Flip, Shaggy, and Pugsy: The 3 Musketoons!
by Anti-Twilight Forever
Summary: Flip, Shaggy, and Pugsy worked as janitors, dreaming of becoming Musketoons. One day, their dream comes true, and their first task is to guard Princess Holly Trueblood! Little to they know that the evil Captain Robotnik has a reason in hiring them, and it's not to protect the Princess...
1. Cue Intro!

**Hey guys, look! I'm starting a new story! XD**

**This one is again an idea formed by Mr. Cartoon, based on the Disney movie and our Adventures of Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip fan-fic. Yes, it's a parody, but- like always- I'll be taking some creative liberties just to add in some originality (so don't sue me!)**

**Please enjoy, don't flame, and feel free to visit the concession stands.**

**Disclaimer: We don't own **_**Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Muskateers, **_**or the cartoons featured in this story. Just ourselves.**

**With that out of the way, on with the story!**

**d~b**

We open at a studio set, where the director, Flanigan, is running about, frantic and hysterical. "Oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear!" he was saying rapidly. "Of all days for this to happen, why today?!"

"What's going on, Flanigan?" asked the author, ATF, as he and his co-author, Mr. Cartoon, walked over.

"Boys, we have a big problem! It's the big debut of the first movie, and the narrator he hired took a trip to Six Flags!"

The author rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and giving Flanigan a look. "Well, we DID mention Yakko's vacation started this week, but SOMEONE didn't want to post-pone it,"

"Only because someone ELSE kept procrastinating with the script!" At this, Flanigan gave ATF a stern look, making him blush.

"Don't worry, Flanigan. We were discussing it and brought in an understudy," Mr. Cartoon assured him. "Oh Mr. Kenny!"

Flanigan's eyes bugged out as a man (who looked like Tom Kenny, but dressed in French attire) entered. "Who's this guy?"

"He's the French Narrator from _Spongebob Squarepants," _ATF replied. "He was generous enough to fill in for the narration role,"

"It was ze only way to get zees two off of my roof," The French Narrator (who we will refer to as 'Jacque') replied cynically.

"So, you'll do it? You'll really do it?" Flanigan asked, excitedly.

"*sigh* I suppose... My career with Spongebob isn't going anywhere," With that, Jacque walked over to the sound-stage where a little chair that said 'Narrator' awaited by a microphone.

"By the way, you don't mind singing, do you?" Mr. Cartoon asked him.

"Oy..."

"Alright, everyone, quiet on the set! We're rolling!" Flanigan shouted into his megaphone, and everyone took their places (the writers sitting in some chairs with popcorn and sodas at hand) as the movie began. "Aaaand... ACTION!"

d~b

**A quiet day, in the Trueblood Kingdom, where across the city of Toontown three young boys sat, hungry and homeless. **

We see a picture of younger versions of Shaggy (14), Pugsy (15) and Flip (6) sitting by a cardboard box, with Scooby (as a puppy) at their side, as they ate the leftovers found in an old pizza-box.

**As if it were not bad enough the three boys were left on the streets, but the streets were full of crime! **

It switches to an image of Horace and Jasper coming along and kicking their box, stealing their food, and roughing them up.

**Could anyone save them? ...Well, of course! No one would get away with beating up kids, as long as ze streets were patroled by...**

It switches to an image of Shawn K., accompanied by some other guards.

**Ze Royal Muskatoons! (... really? we're going with that title? *sigh* Very well...)**

We get a new image of Shawn K. and his comrades beating up Horace and Jasper, chasing them off. It switches to an image of Shawn K. noticing Flip watching from behind a corner.

**After ze dust settles, a brave Muskatoon walks over to ze young Flip, and gives him his hat, as a generous gesture. **

Flip is trying on the hat, though it slips over his head.

**...A tad big, but it's ze thought zat counts.**

Switch to an image of Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip standing heroically, as if to mimic the guards.

**After zat turn of events, the three boys pledged to train, and become Muskatoons themselves!**

...fade to an image to the guys now at their trademark ages, holding a mop, broom, and wrench.

**But, alas, dreams are hard to come by in real life, and as ze years passed our three protagonists remained at ze bottom of ze food-chain, working only as janitors. Pity.**

**Yet they still had hope, believing zat if they worked hard enough, they too will become brave, strong, and heroic like any other Muskatoon, and live by the favorable (and often cliche) phrase: "All For One, And One For All!" **

We switch to the scene of the streets of Toontown, where the camera is turning to take in all the scenery.

**...The phrase is so common, it was made into a song- like the one about to hear being sung by the Muskatoon army who are HEADING THIS WAY YAH!...**

The narrator and camera-guy are suddenly trampled as Shawn K. and the rest of the Muskatoons ride in on their horses down the street, singing their song _(in the form of Macklemore's 'And We Danced'... except not explicit)_.

_~All for one_

_And one for all _

_We will fight_

_And never, ever, ever will fall_

_Take the chance_

_Take the risk_

_And be remembered as the hero you are_

_(You are!)_

_You are_

_(You are!)_

_(whoa-oh oh oh, oh x2)_

_For One_

_(For one!)_

_For All_

_(For all!)_

_Because that's the motto we live by_

_All for one... go!_

The Muskateers ride through the town, over the fields, and away from the rising sunset, as the light glares into the camera; it transitions to a scene of the Muskateers during their training.

_~All for one- for honor_

_One for all- for justice_

_We fight for what's right_

_Bad guys-_

_They can't win, they won't win_

_Good will always rise against sin_

_Because we're strong, true_

_Protecting you_

_And dedicated to our only rule_

_One for all, all for one_

_We don't stop until the battle's won!_

_Villains bite the dust every time_

_And suffer for all their crimes!_

_If they keep at it_

_No need to get all frantic_

_We'll cease the panic~_

Beyond those training grounds, working in a basement- while watching the Muskatoons- were none other than our three protagonists. Flip, Shaggy, and Pugsy couldn't help but watch from a basement window, seeing them train. "Just look at them guys... those swords, those maneuvers..." Flip was saying.

"That choreography," Shaggy noted.

"One day it's going to be us out there,"

"...will we have to sing?" Pugsy deadpanned.

_~You see us riding on through the night_

_Saving lives and stopping villains in a fight_

_It's all for one, and one for all_

_We're all on call_

_All for one, one for all_

_Muskatoons... awesome!~_

_~~All for one_

_And one for all _

_We will fight_

_And never, ever, ever will fall_

_Take the chance_

_Take the risk_

_And be remembered as the hero you are~_

The Muskatoons got in formation, and soluted their captain: Doctor Robotnik. He soluted back, and the camera zoomed out, giving a view of the kingdom, zooming up to the clouds, where the title appeared.

**Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip:**

_**THE THREE MUSKATOONS**_

**d~b**

**A/N: Yeah, as you can tell, I'm not going with the songs from the original movie- but as I mentioned before, I'm taking creative liberties... by parodying other songs. ...Yeah, don't think about it too hard :P**

**Read, review, don't flame, and see you in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter One: Our Heroes, Everybody!

**Chapter One**

**The Dreams (and Flaws) of our Heroes**

After watching the Musketoons train for a few minutes, Flip, Shaggy, and Pugsy returned to their work in the basement. Flip was hand-washing the Musketoon's uniforms; Shaggy was scrubbing the floor; and Pugsy was working on the water-heater.

"I don't see why we have to hand-wash the clothes," Flip muttered.

"Because someone busted the washing machine, remember?" Pugsy replied.

"Hey, if Flip had emptied out his pockets, it wouldn't have happened," Shaggy scoffed. "...And next time you want to bring home a pet, Flip, skip the snakes!"

"Reah, reah," Scooby agreed, painting the wall, a brush held by his tail.

"Ah well... one of these days we'll be Musketoons, and won't have to worry about these chores," Flip said with a shrug.

"You've been saying that for three years now, and the farthest we've gotten was jobs as custodians," Pugsy replied.

"All thanks to Shawn K., he's the best Musketoon! He might see something in us,"

"Or he just felt sorry for us,"

"He still helped us- and one of these days we'll get into training! Musketoons aren't made in a day, you know."

"Like, he's right, Pugs. I read somewhere that Musketoon recruits had to do chores somewhere between six months to five years before they're ready for real training," Shaggy spoke up.

Pugsy rolled his eyes. "I don't believe that," he scoffed.

"Why not?"

"You don't read!"

Shaggy sneered, then continued scrubbing, bitterly muttering, "Do too... Comic books count,"

"C'mon, Pugsy, you gotta keep looking up," Flip said. "We'll get there someday. I mean, the Musketoons need guys like us, right?"

"Like, yeah, they need guys clever," Shaggy said... accidentally dunking his scrub-brush into Scooby's paint-bucket, which was right beside his mop bucket!

Pugsy shrugged, grinning modestly. "Eh, I can't argue with that. They need someone with a cool-head too," he said... his wrench got stuck, and he kept tugging at it, growing frusterated.

"And rey need romeone rave, roo!" Scooby added, handing Flip the hat Shawn K. had given to him- it was slightly worn, but he still kept it around for inspiration... and Shawn K. signed it.

"Yeah, and they need someone brave, too!" Flip agreed, taking the hat.

"Rat's what I raid! Rave!"

Shaggy paused from his work, gasping when he noticed he painted half the white-and-black checkered floor red! "Zoinks!" he gasped, looking at the paintbrush. He pulled the mop-bucket over- having it now located at the bottom of Pugsy's ladder- and started scrubbing as hard as he could, but it didn't seem to work.

d~b

Meanwhile, upstairs, Chief Doctor Robotnik (who, as we can tell, clearly has too much vanity to his name), walked into the bathroom on the 2nd floor. "Ah, had long last- I can finally soak in a nice hot bath," he said to himself, drawing back the curtain, revealing a tub full of warm, bubbly water... with a rubber ducky. He took off his robe and stepped into the tub. "I've been looking forward to this since last week. A time where I can kick back, relax, and not have anything to worry about,"

d~b

Back in the basement, Pugsy still couldn't get a bolt to turn. He paused, clenching his fists, then began to beat on it with a wrench, making a 'clang, clang, clanging' sound, making the pipes rattle.

"Maybe bleach will help!" Shaggy said, grabbing the bleach and pouring some of it into the mop bucket, then setting the still-open bottle on the edge of the wash-tub... where it tipped into the water, just as Flip started scrubbing another uniform!

Flip hummed as he worked... though his tune was cut short when he pulled up the uniform, seeing it went from red-blue-and-yellow to pink-powder blue-and white... with holes in it! "Gah!" he yelped, then looked around for a solution. He looked over, seeing the paint buckets by Scooby... It was the only plan he had right now.

Pugsy was wrestling with the bolt now, then paused for a breath. "That's it, I'm grabbing the power-drill," he sneered, climbing down the ladder...

...stepping in Shaggy's mop-bucket, tripping and slipping on the soapy water, sliding across the room! Shaggy was scrubbing the floor like crazy when Pugsy crashed into him, both of them going flying across the room! "YEEEOOOOOWWWWWWWW!" they both screamed.

Flip was in the process of painting over the bleached uniform, when his friends crashed into him next! Scooby yelped and jumped behind a crate for cover, watching the havoc unfold. Paint, soap, uniforms, and tools went flying everywhere! "Mayday! MAYDAY!" Flip screamed.

*CRASH!*

The threesome crashed into the water-heater. There was a squeaking sound as they looked up, seeing that the bolt Pugsy was having trouble with twisted loose from the collision, and fell to the floor...

And the rest of the pipes spontaneously collapsed, the damage trailing upstairs!

"This won't end good..." Pugsy gulped.

d~b

Robotnik was still in the tub... singing. "_'A' is for how 'Awesome' I am, 'B' is for how bold I can be, 'C' is for how cuddly I am, and 'D' is-" _he was going on, until he froze, feeling the floor shake. "What the...? Uh oh."

*CRACK!*

The tub fell through the second floor!

*CRASH!*

...then through the first floor!

*CLANG! THUD!*

...then dropped down to the basement.

Once the dust settled, the guys- still tangled up in a mess of uniforms, paint buckets, and pipes- cringed as they saw they brought a tub down. The curtains opened, revealing a very dazed Robotnik. "Yikes! Captain Robotnik!" Pugsy cried, and they quickly soluted.

Robotnik said nothing, only swaggering to and fro, all dizzy.

"I can't believe it... we brought the whole bathtub down- with the captain of the guards in it!" Shaggy whimpered.

"Well... at least we didn't bring down the sink!" Flip said, trying to sound optimisit.

*descending whistle*

*CLONK!*

The bathroom sink fell down and landed on Robotnik's head!

Flip gulped. "...spoke too soon."

d~b

After Robotnik regained consciousness... and got over a slight concussion... he threw Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip into a small room. "I can not BELIEVE I got stuck with you idiots!" he snapped at them. "You boys are hopeless- I leave you for ten minutes, and I come back to the aftermath of World War III! It's a wonder you guys are still alive, as klutzy as you are!"

"But, sir, we didn't mean to make a mess!" Flip spoke up. "We were just talking about how great it will be when we're Musketoons,"

"Musketoons? MUSKETOONS?!" Robotnik then had a fit of laughter. "AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! *wheeze* HA HA HA hee hee hoo HEE HA HAW HAW!"

"One more 'ha ha' out of him and he's going to need a lung transplant," Shaggy scoffed.

"What's so funny? You think we can't make it as Musketoons?" Pugsy sneered.

"No, I don't think that... I KNOW it!" Robotnik snapped. "You guys aren't even good enough to be Musketoon combat-dummies! And for good reasons. ONE..." he pointed at Shaggy. "You're a dimwitted coward!" As he said this, he bared sharp teeth and a scary-mad expression.

Shaggy yelped, leaping into Scooby's arms, both of them shaking.

"TWO..." he pointed at Pugsy. "You're a short-tempered loudmouth!"

"I am not!" Pugsy snapped.

"Fine... you're just short then."

"Who are you calling short, you baldheaded-" Pugsy began to fume, until Shaggy clapped a hand over his mouth.

"I rest my case. And finally..." Robotnik turned to Flip, towering over him. "We don't allow children in our unit," he took the hat off Flip's head and crumpled it up, throwing it at his face. "You're lucky Shawn K. hired you... anyone else with common sense would've left you on the streets,"

With that, the villain slammed the door on them. Flip sadly looked down at the ground. Shaggy picked up the crumpled hat, unfolded it, and handed it back to Flip, while Pugsy rested a hand on his shoulder. "And people say I'm a jerk," Pugsy muttered, as they sat in the room, their hopes starting to slip after three years.

d~b

**A/N: Poor guys. ...Don't worry, they'll have their shining moment soon enough ;)**

**Please review, and don't flame, otherwise you'll be giving Robotnik a spongebath! (yes, we'd stoop that low!)**


	3. Chapter Two: Royal Pains of the Princess

**Chapter Two**

**The Melacholy of Princess Holly**

Meanwhile, in Castle Trueblood, an elegant palace run by a princess of royal stature-

*BAM!*

...tensions shot through the roof- while a boy with yellow hair, a gap in his teeth, wearing a green shirt and blue pants and sash that notified him as a prince, was booted out of the castle.

"And there goes another suitor," said one guard.

"You owe me a dollar," said a second guard.

Cut to inside the palace, where a young girl with brown hair, wearing a dress with a pink heart on the front, with a heart-shaped locket, sat on her throne. "Yeah, good riddance, Two-Shoes!" Shelly called. "Sheesh, did he really think girls flipped for making fart sounds with your armpits? Some prince!"

"He was better than that Sanji creep," Holly replied.

"Yeah... only that wasn't a suitor, that was the cook! Looks like we've got another position open," Shelly sighed, writing down notes for the Kingdom news letter.

"Honestly, Shelly, I don't see why I have to keep seeing so many suitors," Holly stood up as she said this, walking down the corridor.

"Uh, because, unless you manage to marry someone of noble status when you're 18, you can't become queen and you'll lose your father's kingdom?"

Holly's shoulders slumped. "Oh, yeah... I'm the only one in line for the throne,"

Shelly rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad- the position could have fallen to anyone... Thank God Almighty your father made a decree that you'd be in charge of the kingdom... before he passed away."

Holly winced, remembering her father. He was growing very sick, and the day before he died he announced that Holly would take over the throne. His daughter would become queen once she married by her 18th birthday. (Apparently '18' was the age for official woman-hood in the kingdom). On his death-bed, he told Holly he loved her very much, and to rule with a true heart, and to stand strong against anything, and as he breathed his final breath, he told her he believed she can do it.

"I miss him, Shelly," Holly sighed, wiping a tear.

"I know you do... But, he's still in your heart, as he said he would be. Plus, he wouldn't want to see you moping- he'd want to see you overcome this challenge," Shelly said, putting an arm around her. "And he chose you to take over for a reason- because you're the smart, strong, kind-hearted girl fit to rule,"

Holly nodded. "You're right... but no more suitors. If I'm going to marry, I want to find my true love- someone dedicated, caring, understanding... Someone I can be happy with."

"Uh-huh... well, it's hard to find guys like that these days. How will you know when you've found him?"

"I'll know when we go on a few dates and the chemistry clicks,"

"Ah."

"...And when we kiss, I'll hear angels sing!"

Shelly rolled her eyes. "Figures. Look, Holly, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but that sounds-"

She froze when she saw the delight on Holly's face, the dreamy look in her eye as she gazed out the window... It was rare to see the princess have such a warm expression these days.

"That sounds... beautiful," Shelly said instead, so not to spoil the moment.

Holly sighed, walking outside, gazing around.

**Ze princess, zough often downhearted, always managed to cheer herself up by dreaming of what kind of romance fate had in store for her. Such a beautiful princess, and such a beautiful dream, both deserved a special song... **_(in the tune of "Hold Me Now" by the Thompson Twins)_

_~They call her a dreamer_

_So very divine_

_She's walking along, singing a song_

_Heard inside her mind_

Holly walked by some flowers, picking one and lightly plucking the petals off it... not noticing two robots, Scratch and Grounder, peeking up from a patch of posies.

_Playing 'He Loves Me Or Not'_

_With every flower she finds~_

As she passes by, Scratch and Grounder drag a keg of dynamite out of the bush, following her.

_~But her heart is aching_

_Getting worse every day_

_She's hoping and praying _

_That love will come through_

_And make the pain go away_

_(Oh-oh, oh-whoa-whoa)~_

She walks over a small bridge over a pond in the garden. Scratch and Grounder push the barrel of dynamite over to her, then plug their ears, waiting for the explosion... but the barrel rolls past Holly, up a tree, and into the pond, exploding and causing a wave of water (and a few fish) to rain down on the two robots!

_~Holly, girl_

_Don't be scared_

_Keep up faith_

_Love's out there somewhere_

_Love's out there somewhere~_

Holly turns around, hearing the explosion, but by this time the water and fish have rained back into the pond, as if nothing happened. She shrugs and continues on, making a turn, passing some statues of Cupid and his arrow, a couple kissing, and a giant stone heart. Behind a statue where a headless man is holding a headless woman, Horace and Jasper poke their heads out (where the statue-heads would be) and grin evilly as Holly passes by.

_~Her heart's set on romance_

_But thing's aren't okay_

_There's troubles always waiting_

_Problems awaiting_

_Every day and all day!_

Horace and Jasper sneak over with a couple sledge-hammers, following Holly down a path, where she stops to look at a pair of love-birds flying about, one of them perching on her finger when she holds it out. Horace and Jasper sneak over in a pair of bushes- Jasper to her left, Horace to her right- and they prepare to swing the sledgehammers down.

_~Perhaps she should run off_

_And save her own skin_

_But her heart knows her better_

_And deep down she knows_

_She can't let this grief win~_

_(oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh)_

Holly moves forward... as Horace and Jasper swing their hammers down, knocking each other out! The princess walks on, not noticing!

_~Holly, girl_

_Don't be scared_

She goes over to a gazebo, perched on top of a hill overlooking a field, where the sun is setting. She sighs heavily, wishing she could share the sight with 'the one'. As she's daydreaming, she doesn't notice Scratch and Grounder have a bomb ready to throw it at her from the top of a tree... while on a balcony, Horace and Jasper are now lighting a stick of dynamite to throw at her!

_Keep up faith_

Horace and Jasper throw the dynamite, as Scratch and Grounder throw their bomb-

_Love's out there somewhere_

_Love's out there some-_

*KA-BOOM!*

The result was typical. The dynamite ended up in Scratch and Grounder's hands, while the bomb ended up in Horace and Jasper's hands, both going off and blowing the bad guys sky-high!

The ground shook and Holly gasped, as the explosions caused enough of a force to make the gazebo cave in, and she dived out before it collapsed on top of her!

"Princess! Are you alright?!" Shelly gasped, rushing to her from the palace stairs.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..." Holly said, a bit shaken up. "But someone just killed the song,"

Shelly looked over the damage, then saw some figures- covered in soot and ashes- stand up in the bushes, and spring towards the wall, climbing over and racing off! "I think they meant to kill you,"

"No doubt..." Holly stood up, brushing herself off, and turned to Shelly, quite miffed. "C'mon, Shelly... I have a phone-call to make!"

"Who you gonna call?"

Holly rolled her eyes. "Ghost Busters. ...The captain of the guards, of course! It's about time I got some body-guards!"

d~b

**A/N: I want to take this time to say I apologize for the poorly-written lyrics... and if the chapter wasn't original enough. Oh well... I wonder who's going to get the body-guard job? ;) ;) ;)**

**Please review. No flames... we've got dynamite. A deadly combination. **


	4. Chapter Three: Change of Plans!

**Chapter Three**

**A Slight Change of Plans**

Horace, Jasper, Scratch, and Grounder ran through a secret passage, down some secret steps, into a secret hideout where a secret lair was kept... secretly. "Nice going, boneheads! You blew the plan!" Scratch snapped.

"Us?! Everything would've gone smoothly if YOU two blokes hadn't butt-in!" Jasper sneered.

"Yeah, WE were hired for the job!" Horace added.

"WE were hired FIRST!" Grounder sneered.

"Were not!"

"Were too!"

"Were not!"

"Were too!"

"Were not!"

"Were too!"

"Gah, it doesn't matter now! We blew it this time, and the boss is going to kill us!" Scratch cried.

"I say we make tracks for Florida, pronto!" Horace gulped.

"No good- he can smell fear from miles away,"

Grounder arched an eyebrow, and sniffed his armpit. "Whoo! That is strong!" he agreed.

"Well, someone's got to tell him, he's just going to find out anyway... might as well be YOU two," Jasper sneered, referring to Scratch and Grounder.

"OH NO! YOU two messed up, so YOU can tell him!" Scratch argued.

"We ALL messed up- plus, YOU guys have worked for him longer!"

"Well... he pays you more, so there!"

"He doesn't pay us at all!"

"Enough arguing! Lets settle this like men!" Horace snapped, raising his fist.

"And machines!" Grounder agreed, raising his drill-hands.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!" All four of them cried- Jasper got rock, Horace got paper, Scratch got scissors, and Grounder... got drill.

"Ha! Drill can beat anything!"

"Okay, you win, so you tell him!" Scratch said, opening the door to the lair.

"Okey-dokey!" Grounder rolled in... then froze. "WAIT!"

*SLAM!*

Too late, the others slammed the door behind him. Grounder gulped, then turned around...

Seeing Doctor Robotnik, out of his Muskatoon uniform and in his trademark villain-suit, standing on a metal platform, a ton of computers behind him that monitored every part of the castle. And he did NOT. Look. Happy.

"I hope you're bringing me good news," Robotnik growled, walking over to Grounder, who stood still, shivering. "I could use some good news right now..." he loomed over Grounder now...

Then passed by him, hit a button, and caused the door to rotate, flinging in Horace, Jasper, and Scratch.

"CONSIDERING YOU FOUR CHUCKLEHEADS SCREWED UP BIG TIME!" Robotnik bellowed in their faces, causing them to fly back and hit the wall. He then took out a remote, clicked a button, and showed the images of the four henchmen attempting to kill Princess Holly. "Care to explain THIS?!"

"But... we were just following your orders to kill the princess!" Horace stammered.

"I didn't say 'kill', I said KIDNAP! How could you morons possibly misunderstand THAT?!"

"I think I have an inner-ear problem," Scratch admitted.

"Why do you want to kidnap the princess, again?" Jasper asked.

"The Skillet concert is tomorrow night?" Robotnik said, spelling it out, and pointed to a Skillet poster on the wall...

...the chorus of "Monster" sounded off as it came to view...

"The princess has got to be gone before then! So I can become king!" Robotnik replied.

"Ohhh... how does that work, again?" Grounder asked.

Robotnik sighed, rubbing his temples. "Let me explain it to you one. More. Time." he then pulled down a screen with a step-by-step picture of his evil scheme. "Her father passed away, leaving her to rule as a princess until she's 18 and becomes queen- but she can't become queen if she doesn't find a suitor, and she can't find a suitor if she isn't around to be courted. And by kidnapping her and locking her away where nobody can find her, there will be no suitor period, which means her father's decree shall become void, and the throne will be passed down to the highest-ranking noble... which would be the captain of the guards, a.k.a ME!" he turned to his henchmen. "Now... do I make myself clear?"

The henchmen only stood there, blinking. "Um... could you repeat that?" Scratch asked.

Robotnik gave them a 'I Don't Believe This' look, and slapped his forehead. "LIEUTENANT MELODY!"

Melody then rushed in. "You bellowed, Doctor?" she asked.

"Send these idiots to the dungeon! They're giving me a headache!"

"Oh, maybe you should take an aspirin!" she giggled.

Robotnik groaned. "Melody, it's a good thing you're pretty, otherwise I wouldn't have hired you."

"Oh, thank you!"

"Just pull the lever."

"Okay," Melody walked over to a wall, and pulled one lever.

A giant saw-blade then swung down at Robotnik, missing him by an inch but shaving the mustache off his face. "WRONG LEVER!" he screamed.

"Oops," Melody pulled a second lever, and this time a trap-door opened beneath the henchmen, causing them to fall screaming down a chute that lead to a cell.

Robotnik grumbled, pulling out a spare mustache and plastering it on his face. By this time, the phone on the wall rang. "Melody, would you get that? ...And if it's my mother, tell her I'm not here!" he ordered.

"Yes sir," Melody said, then answered the phone. "Robotnik's secret lair, Melody speaking! ...*gasp* It's the princess! She's coming to the Musketoon camp, and wants to speak with you at once!"

Robotnik growled a bit, putting on his uniform. "If it's not one pain in the neck, it's another... what a rotten time for her to drop by!"

d~b

"What a lovely time for you to drop by, your highness!" Robotnik said cheerfully, meeting Holly out front by the Musketoon training field. "What can I do for you?"

"I want bodyguards," Holly said, sternly.

Robotnik paled. "Huh?"

"Musketoon bodyguards, like those men there!" Holly pointed out at the training grounds, where the Musketoon guards were busy stabbing their swords into overstuffed dummies (ironically shaped like Robotnik) and slicing them in half, or cutting off thier heads, or stabbing them in the heart, or... jabbing them somewhere the son doesn't shine.

The villain's eye gave a nervous twitch. "Um... gee, my men are all busy patrolling the streets... perhaps you could wait for their vacation time come, uh, June?" Robotnik suggested.

"It's already June, genius!" Shelly scoffed. "And you'd better find the princess some Musketoon bodyguards ASAP, otherwise we'll be posting an ad in the newspaper with an opening for a new captain!"

Robotnik moaned... this was not his day! As if it weren't enough that he only had clumsy idiots to work with, the princess also wanted bodyguards consisting of the bravest, strongest, smartest army of all of Toontown! If he were to give her bodyguards, he'd have to find someone the opposite of such...

...and that's when he spotted them in the distance.

Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip were putting fresh shingles on a roof across the street. Shaggy, not paying attention, accidentally stapled Pugsy's pants to the roof- and when the shorter teen stood up, his pants ripped off, revealing his boxer-shorts! Flip busted out laughing, and Pugsy threw tar on him. Shaggy laughed and Flip pushed him- both of them getting stuck... even more stuck when they tipped over and fell on Pugsy as he was trying to pry his pants loose, all of them rolling off the side of the roof (shingles sticking to them as they did) and they landed in a truck hauling pillows... walking out looking like giant chickens!

Robotnik smirked. "Princess, have I got the men for you!" he declared. "Just give me twenty minutes to, ah, prep them up for an audience with you,"

"Well, hurry. This whole day has been nothing but a disaster!" Holly replied sharply, and she and Shelly left.

Robotnik crossed his arms. "Speak for yourself, sister."

d~b

**A/N: Next chapter, the guys get their chance!**

**Please review, no flames though! **


	5. Chapter Four: The Moment Has Come!

**Chapter Four**

**Dreams DO Come True! (...when a villain has a plot)**

Later, after cleaning the tar, feathers, and shingles off themselves, Shaggy, Pugsy and Flip returned to the basement to clean up their mess from their chaotic morning. After Robotnik had chewed them out, they've been doing their work in a mellowed-down funk- normally they put in as much work as possible, without screwing up, but now they were asking themselves 'Why bother?' and barely put in half the effort.

Flip was folding the uniforms, looking over at Shaggy and Pugsy, who washed and hung the uniforms. Seeing the depressed look on their faces all day, he finally had enough. "Cheer up, guys... so we had a bad day, we shouldn't let it get to us," Flip said innocently.

"Try saying that while plucking feathers off yourself," Pugsy muttered, plucking an extra feather out of his hair.

"Yeah... Robotnik was right, we're lucky we even got jobs as janitors," Shaggy sighed, Scooby whimpering beside him.

"Don't let what Robotnik say get you down- he was just being a hot-head... anyone would be if they fell through two floors in a bathtub and had a sink fall on their head, and would say things they wouldn't mean, right?" Flip replied. "Like the time you burned your veggie-burger, or when Scooby's tail got caught in the door, or when I dropped a brick on my foot, or when Pugsy got hit by a wrecking-ball?"

"I still wonder who let the blind guy drive," Pugsy commented.

"What I'm saying is, it doesn't matter what other people say- as long as we keep working on achieving our dream, we'll be Musketoons... and everyone will be proud of us, even Robotnik! If we give up now, we'll stay stuck at rock bottom."

"How can you be so opticamistic?"

"I just have a lot of hope to share. ...By the way, what does 'opticamistic' mean?"

"I think Flip's got a point," Shaggy said, walking over to the nine-year-old. "We're not really going to achieve anything just by moping,"

"Reah, we rave to keep rositive," Scooby agreed, wagging his tail.

The positivity of his friends was overcoming his negative attitude, and Pugsy had no choice but to succumb to it. "Alright, alright. We'll keep trying till we reach the top," he said, then smirked. "Sometimes I think you just do this just to avoid my mood,"

"Hey, if you got any moodier, you'd be the exact replica of Grumpy Cat," Flip joked, earning a chuckle from his friends. "Trust me guys. Sooner or later, the captain is going to come through that door, and say-"

"Congratulations, boys! You're in!" called Robotnik as he walked through the door at moment.

"Yeah that," Flip smiled... then paused, doing a double-take. "Wait, what?"

"You've passed the test boys! I knew you boys wouldn't give up, and I was right! You're going to be Musketoons!"

"You're kidding," Pugsy commented, a bit suspicious. "We're going to be Musketoons... just like that?"

Shaggy looked around. "Are we being Punk'd? Where's the hidden cameras?" he questioned.

"No gag, boys. I've been keeping a close eye on all your hard work, and I'm impressed! I just gave you a little push, just to see how willing you were, and once again you amazed me!" Robotnik replied. "Welcome to the league!"

"Oh my gosh... this is really happening! We're... We're...!" Flip stammered in excitement.

d~b

"We're Musketoons!" Flip cried out, as he, Shaggy, and Pugsy now stood in front of the guards at the official ceremony, now wearing the uniforms rather than washing them. "At long last... it's finally happened!"

"Yes, Flip, you've been saying that the past ten minutes," Pugsy replied, then shrugged. "Ah well. All for one-"

"And two to tango!" Shaggy exclaimed, waving his sword- cutting Pugsy's hat in half. In response, the shorter teen jabbed him with his elbow, knocking him over.

Flip cringed, then turned to Robotnik. "Eh heh... we'll get better, you'll see." he said, sheepishly.

"Yeah I'm sure you will," Robotnik deadpanned. "Now, c'mon, boys! It's time for your first task!" he said, leading them down the walkway towards the palace. "You've got the task of guarding the princess?"

"THE PRINCESS?!" The trio exclaimed, stunned.

"Ah, no offense, Captain Doctor Boss-Man Sir, but isn't that a task meant for a Musketoon with more experience?" Shaggy gulped.

"Yeah, we're still rookies!" Pugsy added.

"You've seen them train, you've memorized every tactic... you guys even played the videogame twelve times! You're experienced enough," Robotnik assured them. "Besides, this should be an easy job- all you have to do is stand guard by the princess, and keep any bad-guys from harming her." he gave them a sharp look. "You're not backing down now, are you?"

"No sir, of course not!" Flip said quickly. "We can do it- and be the best Musketoons you've ever seen!"

_Criminiy, this kid's optimism is going to make me puke, _Robotnik thought, though managed a grin. "That's the spirit, boy! Now, come along! Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four!"

They walked along- Flip determined, Shaggy nervous, and Pugsy suspicious. _Just this morning Robotnik said we were hopeless... why would he change his mind?_ he thought, as Robotnik wasn't a man to take back an insult without good reason. _More importantly, why would the captain of the guards assign a bunch of newbies to an extreme task? He must be pulling something..._

Still, they walked to the castle, still feeling high in spirits about finally, after so long, their dreams were going to come true.

d~b

**A/N: Okay, this was a short chapter, but I promise the next chapter will be longer. How will Holly take to the new body-guards... more importantly, how will she and Flip take to each other? ;)**

**Please review, no flames, and I'll do another update hopefully next week!**


	6. Chapter Five: First Impressions

**Chapter Five**

**First Impressions Are Very Important**

Robotnik and the three new Musketoons marched down the corridor towards the thrown room, stopping at the closed doors. "Now you three wait here, while I introduce you," Robotnik told them, turning towards the door... then turning sharply back. "And don't do anything stupid while I'm gone!" With that, he went in.

"Wow, he sure knows how to challenge new recruits," Shaggy replied.

"I'm still suspicious on this, guys. Protectifying the princess is a huge task to take on... and we don't really have that much experience!" Pugsy pointed out.

"Robotnik must see some real potential in us. Besides, it shouldn't be too hard," Flip told him. "All we have to do is keep an eye out for any bad-guys... And with guys as daring as the three of us, I doubt any would be dumb enough to come our way,"

"Good point, Flip. One look at us, and we'll have those bad guys... heading FOR THE HILLS!" Shaggy started to say, slowly turning as he noticed a suit of armor- wielding an axe- standing right beside him. "GAH! BAD GUY!"

"GET IT!" Flip cried out, and the two of them tackled it!

Pugsy face-palmed. "Oh yeah. Every villain is going to be _horrified _of us," he muttered.

d~b

In the throne room, Robotnik stood before Princess Holly. "Your majesty, I have spent the last 20 minutes looking over each and every one of my guards, wanting to make sure I found the PERFECT saps- er, soldiers, that would deem fit for watching over someone of such high stature." he boasted. "Finally, after long consideration, I managed to pinpoint the right men for the job- the best that only one with a keen eye could seek out."

"Huh boy, this is going to take a while," Shelly sighed, then turned to Holly. "I'll go get your Nintendo DS."

"Yes, well, Toon Town thanks you and your eyes, Captain Doctor Robotnik," Holly replied to Robotnik. "You may bring them in,"

Robotnik looked over to the doors. "Alright, men, the princess will see you now." he called.

The doors swung open...

...showing Shaggy's head stuck in a helmet, Flip stomping on a chestplate, and Pugsy pulling his hat over his head in embarrassment. When they noticed the doors opened, they quickly stopped what they were doing and stood up straight, giving a solute.

However, Holly and Flip's eyes fell transfixed on each other, the two of them gazing at one another for a moment. The room seemed to glow, harp-music seemed to be playing, and Holly could swear she heard angels singing...

"Hey, would you guys take your choir practice somewhere else?!" Shelly shouted, entering the room... passing by a random choir that was standing by the doorway.

"Oh, sorry. We thought this was the music hall," the conductor said, and they moved out.

Flip, Shaggy, and Pugsy approached the princess, bowing in respect.

"Um... why were you beating up a suit of armor?" Holly asked them.

"Don't ask..." Pugsy sighed.

"We, uh, thought it was a villain," Flip replied, blushing a bit.

"Sheesh, talk about high-strung," Shelly commented, taking out the DS to hand to Holly.

*beep beep* went the DS, which anyone would know meant the battery was running low.

...But, to the others...

"It's a bomb!" Shaggy yelped.

"Get her!" Pugsy snapped, and they lunged at Shelly!

"Oh no-" Shelly whimpered.

*WHAM!* The guys tackled her!

"STOP! It's not a bomb, it's a videogame!" Holly snapped, then held up the DS. "The battery is just low! Put her down!"

Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip- who were close to throwing Shelly out the window- set her down. "S-Sorry about that," Pugsy replied.

"Not yet you aren't..." she growled.

*Pow!*

Shelly socked him. "NOW you are," with a huff, she brushed herself off and walked back over to Holly.

Robotnik, during this, was stifling his mouth, trying hard not to burst out laughing. He cleared his throat when Holly gave him a glare. "You'll have to pardon them, Princess." he said, innocently. "They're like a well-oiled machine that's been wound too tight,"

"We're really sorry, your majesty," Flip apologized. "We just wanted to protect you,"

"Yes, well... I forgive you, but I think it would seem best if I told you about everyone in the castle first- before you mistake anyone else for a villain," Holly replied, casually.

"Sounds good, a tour will also help us memorize the grounds, when we're on patrol."

"Come along then, I'll show you around." she turned to Robotnik. "You're excused, Captain."

Robotnik gave a bow, then walked out. Once he was outside the castle, he began to chuckle to himself, a grin spreading on his face as he made his way back to his lair, humming to himself.

**Get out your ear-plugs, everyone. I think the villain's going to sing...**

And sing Robotnik did. _(in the tune of "It Still Ain't Easy" by Long John Baldry)_

_~I remember, when I was a lad_

_I always had a knack, for anything bad_

_Growing up in a bad town in a bad year_

_But unlike others, it brought me cheer_

_My mother said, "You're going to jail,"_

_But I only smiled, as it was worth causing fear_

_She was proud of me, anyway_

_As I went on my way_

_Lying and cheating to everyone in town_

_And so my goal began_

_To manipulate others, and_

_Gain a throne along the way._

_Yes, I'm rotten to the core_

_And it makes everyone sore_

_That one day, I'll take their dreams away!~_

He went into his office, climbing through a secret passage behind a book-case, where he stepped on a hover-disc that sped him through his lair of endless killing machines and torture devices, a few deadly robots serving as his back-up chorus.

_~And it's so easy_

_(It's so easy)_

_Yes, it's so easy_

_(It's so easy)_

_It's so easy_

_To bring others down to their knees_

He jumped off the disc, landing on a set of stairs where his robot-chorus stood by the rails... and he knocked over each one he passed by.

_~Oh, it's so easy_

_(It's so easy)_

_Yeah, it's so easy!_

_(It's so easy)_

_It's so easy_

_Being an expert at being mean_

_(being an expert at being mean)_

He passed by a workbench, grabbing a lead pipe that he used as a cane, swinging it around, while smacking a few robots. He tossed the pipe up in the air, passing Melody and giving her a solute. She soluted back... as the pipe hit her on the head!

_~It's so easy_

_(it's so easy)_

_Soooo darn easy_

_(it's so easy)_

_It's so easy_

_Breaking spirits, and still living like a king!_

_Yes, it's so easy_

_Being bad and becoming king!_

_Yeah!~_

Robotnik's song ended, as he stood on his platform, a spotlight shining on him. He then paused. "Melody!" he called.

"Yes, sir?" asked Melody, with an ice-bag on her head.

"Remind me this weekend to kill whoever wrote the lyrics to my song," Robotnik then walked off. "Now then... for the next phase of my plan,"

d~b

**A/N: Little fact- Long John Baldry was also the voice of Robotnik on 'Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog'. I came across a video someone made of Robotnik 'singing' the original song, so I decided to go with that. **

**Anyway, next chapter- Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip's heroism is put to the test!**


	7. Chapter Six: The Kidnap Calamity

**Chapter Six**

**A-Saving We Will Go!**

Down dank in the dark dungeons, Horace, Jasper, Scratch, and Grounder sat in boredom. Horace was reading a magazine, Scratch was playing with a paddle-ball, Jasper was on a cell-phone, and Grounder was drawing a picture of Robotnik in a dress being chased by wild boards while making a silly face.

"Yeah, that's a large pepperoni with stuffed crust... yes, usual address- Dark Dungeon in Robotnik's Hidden Lair, cell number 0017..." Jasper was saying into the phone.

"A-HEM,"

They all looked over... seeing a seething Robotnik glaring at them.

Horace threw his magazine, Scratch set fire to his paddle-ball, Grounder ate his picture, and Jasper quickly said, "Sorry, wrong number!" and hung up. "Eh heh... what's up, boss?"

Robotnik gave a calm grin. "Would you fellows have room for your schedule to go and kidnap the princess?" he asked calmly.

Grounder took out a calendar. "I think so," he replied.

"WELL STOP THINKING AND DO IT!" Robotnik snarled. "The Skillet Concert is coming up quick-"

(Cut to a glimpse of a 'Skillet' poster, the chorus of "Whispers in the Dark" playing)

Robotnik gave a confused glance, then turned back ot his henchmen. "I want you to get rid of those idiot-guards I set her up with, and hide her somewhere where no one will ever find her!"

"How exactly will that help you become king, again?" Horace asked, still confused.

Robotnik growled. "JUST GO!"

"Right on it, boss!" Jasper quickly said, and they took off.

Robotnik sighed and sat down. "One of these days I'll have to put an ad in the paper for new henchmen- complete with brains,"

d~b

Meanwhile with our heroes, they had finished their tour of the castle and were now on a picnic with Holly and Shelly. "So, you were orphans before Shawn K. signed you up to become Musketoons?" Holly was asking Flip, as they ate a couple sub-sandwiches.

"Sort of." Flip replied. "I came from a big family, but one day I got separated from them after a horrible storm. I went out to look for them, but got lost. I was really scared, until I met Shaggy and Pugsy, and they decided to take care of me until we found my family," he hung his head low. "...it's been three years now,"

Holly rested a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, I'm really sorry to hear that, Flip."

"It's alright. I know they're still out there somewhere- and I figure, as a Musketoon, I'll be able to find them."

Holly smiled. "Well, I hope you do. I can even send out a proclamation, asking for any information on their whereabouts,"

"Really? Thanks!"

"What about you two? What are your 'dramatic' backstories?" Shelly asked Shaggy and Pugsy.

"Couldn't pay my rent," Pugsy replied.

"Gang went on with their lives," Shaggy added... jerking his veggie-burger away when Scooby tried to eat it. "What's your story?"

"Meh, my band broke up, so I got a new job," Shelly replied with a shrug.

Holly looked around. "How come we're the only ones with tragic backstories?" she asked Flip.

"Guess the writer didn't want to throw in too much and distract from the plot." Flip guessed.

*THUD!*

Horace, Jasper, Scratch, and Grounder suddenly fell from the air... wearing backpacks. "Okay... who's 'brilliant' idea was it to _sky-dive _and attack?" Scratch grunted.

"I'm wondering why our parachutes didn't work," Horace replied.

*POOF!*

Four parachutes shot out, covering them. "Next time, we're sticking to basic sneak-attacks," Jasper muttered.

"Zoinks, who are those guys?!" Shaggy gasped.

"I don't know, but one of them mentioned the word 'attack', so I suggest we scrammify!" Pugsy stated.

"Good idea, c'mon Princess!" Flip said, and they all started running.

"Hey, they're taking off!" Grounder said, ripping through his parachute.

"Well, after them, you morons!" Scratch snapped, and they all tore out of their parachutes and pursued.

"They're coming after us!" Shaggy shouted the obvious.

"Then it looks like we're going to have to stand and fight!" Flip declared. "Princess Holly, you'd better get to a safe distance,"

As Shelly and Holly ducked behind a boulder, the four henchmen ran up, with their own weapons- Jasper had a metal baseball bat, Horace had a crowbar, Grounder turned one of his drills into a sledgehammer, and Scratch took out a mallet. Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip drew their swords, fending them off.

"Bring it on, bozo!" Flip shouted, pointing his sword at Jasper.

"'Bring it on'? Cliche lines make me mad!" Jasper shouted, swinging his baseball bat at Flip, hitting the point of it and making it bend.

"You're dead meat!" Scratch sneered at Pugsy.

"...Cliche lines make me mad, too!" Pugsy snarled, then swung his sword violently- Scratch merely pinned his foot to his chest, stretching it out far enough so Pugsy couldn't reach. "Let me at ya, let me at ya! I'll shred you to smotherines!"

Shaggy stood there shaking as Grounder and Horace faced him. "Boo," Grounder said.

"ZOINKS!" Shaggy cried, then ducked behind the boulder with Holly and Shelly!

"...My hero," Shelly deadpanned.

Flip tried to fight of Jasper, but the crook merely pulled his hat over his head, then hung him on a tree-branch by his pants! "Hey! No fair! Fight like a man!" he shouted, swinging his fists.

"I would... but I don't fight little kids," Jasper taunted.

"Get out there and fight, you coward!" Shelly snapped at Shaggy and- literately- kicked him out from behind the boulder.

He landed back in front of Horace and Grounder, and shakily raised his sword. "Um... enguarde?" he squeaked.

Grounder replaced one of his drills with a larger sword- so large, it made Shaggy's go limp! The coward let out a long gasp... then fainted.

"Wimp." Horace scoffed.

"C'mon and fight, or are you too chicken?!" Pugsy snarled at Scratch.

"CHICKEN?!" Scratch squawked. "I'LL SHOW YOU CHICKEN, BWARK!" He then slammed his mallet hard on Pugsy's head, making him see stars, then slammed a safe over him! "That THAT, shrimp!"

"We've got the princess!" Jasper called as he and Horace dragged out Shelly and Holly- Shelly repeatedly kicking Horace in the shin.

"Ow! Would you stop- OW!- kicking me so- OW!- we can- OW! - finish- OW! -kidnapping you? -OW!" Horace said between kicks.

Scratch and Grounder ran over with some rope, tying the two ladies down, then they took off.

Flip managed to wiggle free, falling off the tree-branch, the safe-door opened and Pugsy fell out with a dazed expression, and Shaggy groggily sat up. "Ugh... what happened?" Shaggy asked.

"Those goons got away with the princess, that's what happened! We've got to go save her!" Flip cried.

"Like, are you kidding, Flip? Did you not see how easily they beat us?! Lets face it- Robotnik was wrong... we're not Musketoons,"

"Why? Just because we had one slip? We can't give up now, especially with the princess at stake! This is the chance to really prove ourselves!"

"Flip's right. We've got rescuefying to do!" Pugsy agreed, holding an ice-bag on his head.

"C'mon, Shaggy... do you really want to be the first Musketoon who was too cowardly to save someone?"

Shaggy thought, then stood up, a determined look on his face. "Not today! You're right, Flip, it's time to prove what we can do!" he said.

"Then lets go! We're going to save the princess, or die trying!" Swords raised, Flip and Pugsy took off.

Shaggy froze. "...die?"

Pugsy ran back and grabbed him, dragging him along.

d~b

They followed the henchmen's footprints to a secluded tower on the outskirts of town.

"Okay, why is it that when a princess gets kidnappified, they always hide her in a tower?" Pugsy questioned. "Is there like a special code for villianous plot-points or something?"

"Yep, right here," Shaggy said, reading a book titled, 'Villianous Cliche Handbook'. "Page 172, Paragraph 14: 'Always hide your kidnapped princess in a tower.'"

"Well, c'mon, lets get in there!" Flip said, slamming his shoulder on the door. "Mmf! It's locked!"

Pugsy and Shaggy helped pushing it, but it wouldn't budge for nothing. "Alright, stand back, I'll break it down!" Shaggy said, backing up a mile or so, then charged forward!

Pugsy looked at a small sign on the door: "Pull." "Shag, wait! Never mind! We just-" Pugsy called, opening the door.

*ZOOM!*

Too late.

Shaggy ran through the doorway- so fast, that he shot clear up the stairs, passing the henchmen in a blur!

"What the heck was that?" Grounder asked.

Shaggy continued running... until he ran out a window! "AAAAAUUUUGGGGHHH!" he shouted, falling from 100 stories high...

Meanwhile, down below...

"For the last time, we didn't order a giant trampoline!" the director, Flanigan, was saying to a delivery guy.

"Well, buddy, you could have told me that before I set it up!" The delivery guy replied.

Shaggy, conveniently, landed on the trampoline, and bounced back into the air! "WHOOOAAAA!" he cried, breaking orbit-

*THUNK!*

He hit his head on a satellite, plummeting back to earth...

*THUD!*

He landed between Bluto and Olive Oil, just as Bluto was going to give her a peck on the cheek- kissing Pugsy instead! "WHY YOU!" the brute shouted, then punched Shaggy, sending him flying through the air again!

*SMASH!*

...crashing through a different window, falling down the stairs...

*BONK! BOING! BINK! BAM!*

...once again passing the bad guys. "Did that guy look familiar to you?" Scratch asked.

"Probably just another Shaggy knock-off, they're everywhere these days." Jasper replied.

Shaggy finally rolled out of the doorway, landing in front of Pugsy and Flip. "...door's open," he grunted.

Flip and Pugsy helped him up, and they quickly ran into the tower.

"Oy! Those Musketoon blokes are coming!" Horace called, spotting our heroes at the base of the stairs.

"Ah, we're a hundred stories up!" Jasper said, as they threw Holly and Shelly into a cage. "They won't catch us in time!"

*Ding!*

The henchmen looked across the room, spotting a set of metal doors opening, as our heroes leaped out! "...Unless they took the elevator," Horace pointed out.

"Alright, we're going to ask you politely," Pugsy said, taking out his sword. "Let the princess go, or we'll turn you guys into chopped liver!"

"That reminds me, when's our lunch break?" Shaggy asked.

"We just had lunch!" Flip told him.

"We haven't," Grounder said, then turned to Scratch. "When _do_ we get a break for lunch?"

"AFTER we get rid of these nimrods, you nimrod!" Scratch said, bonking him on the head.

"Lets send them to the undertaker!" Jasper growled, and they took out their weapons.

Grounder took on Flip, turning his drill into a spatula. "Whoops! Hold on," he said, then turned it into a...

"Pumpkin?" Flip questioned. "In what way could-

Grounder hit him in the head with the pumpkin, then slammed it over the sword, making it stick to it, and yanked it out of Flip's hand!

"...I hate it when cartoon logic works against me..." Flip gulped, and Grounder socked him across the room!

Pugsy was fending off both Horace and Jasper, apparently outnumbering them. "Oh my gosh, a werewolf!" Horace yelped, pointing behind him.

"Where?!" Pugsy gasped... if you lived his life, you would understand. Jasper took his bat and struck him across the face, sending him crashing next to Flip.

Shaggy... wasn't having much luck either, as Scratch had whipped out a chainsaw! "Oh man... why do the villains always get more weapons?" he gulped.

"Because we like to cheat!" Scratch answered, forcing him back beside Flip and Pugsy. "Any last words?"

Shaggy, however, took his gaze off the chainsaw, and noticed the broken window- the same one he crashed through earlier! He pondered a moment, picturing a Rube Goldberg-esque plan in his head.

"What is it, Shag?" Flip asked, noticing Shaggy wasn't looking cowardly at the moment- which would catch anyone's attention.

"You guys may not believe it, but I've got an idea!" Shaggy whispered.

"I don't believe it," Pugsy quipped.

Shaggy grabbed them by the shirts, then ran forth, passing the bad-guys and jumping out the window again! "...Sore losers, aren't they?" Horace asked.

"AAIIIIIIIIIEEEE ALREADY HATE THIS PLAN!" Pugsy screamed as they fell.

Meanwhile below...

"Could you PLEASE hurry and get rid of the trampoline?! We're shooting a movie!" Flanigan demanded.

The delivery guy was slowly unscrewing one pole of the trampoline. "Look, bub, it took me two hours to set up, it'll take me another two hours to take apart!" he argued.

*BOING!*

Our three heroes landed on the trampoline, shooting out of orbit. "Watch your heads!" Shaggy warned.

*BONK!*

"Too late..." Pugsy said, dazed as they hit the satellite, and fell back to earth.

*THUD!*

They landed between Bluto and Olive Oil again. "YOU AGAIN?!" the brute shouted, then punched them all hard enough to send them flying again!

*CRASH!*

They went through the window...

*BAM!*

And slammed into the henchmen, knocking them clear out the opposite window!

Down below...

The delivery guy was rolling the trampoline into his truck. "Fine, I'll just take it to someone who wants it!" he shouted at Flanigan.

*CRASH!*

The henchmen landed on the ground, making four body-shaped craters in the earth.

Up in the tower, our heroes released Holly and Shelly. "Are you alright, Princess?" Flip asked, holding her hand.

"Yes, I think so," Holly said, stepping out of the cage. Her foot caught on the edge of it and she fell forward, Flip catching her and holding her close.

The light shined in the room at the right angle, making their faces glow, and Holly could swear she heard angels singing.

"Huh boy," Pugsy said, chuckling a bit.

"What is it?" Shaggy asked him.

"Don't look now, Shag... but I think we're in for a romantified chapter,"

d~b

**A/N: Indeed, we are. **

**And yes, I did borrow a joke from 'The Emperor's New Groove'... I couldn't resist, I like that movie XD**

**Please review. No flames though, please!**


	8. Chapter Seven: The ALMOST Romantic Part

**Chapter ummm... Seven! Yes, I think it's Seven.**

**The Romantic Scene!**

Flip and Holly later walked along a path in the gardens, innocently exchanging glances, blushing a bit as they went on their way. The sun was setting, setting the garden aglow...

**Ah, truly this is a romantic scene... Deserving of a romantic song, no?**

"Like, no problem!" Shaggy exclaimed as he and Pugsy stepped onto the scene, Shaggy holding one of those guitar-piano instruments.

**What the...?! You guys aren't supposed to be in this scene! It's Flip and Holly's big, romantic moment!**

"Exactly- and the kid could use a little help, from romantified experts like ourselves," Pugsy boasted.

If we could see the Narrator, chances are his face would be in his palm.

**Oy... the atmosphere is going to die in flames...**

"Flames of LOVE, man!" Shaggy exclaimed, and he and Pugsy snuck off.

**This is not going to end well... for Flip.**

Speaking of Flip, he and Holly stood on the small bridge in the garden, overlooking the sunset. "You know, Holly, you're the nicest girl I've ever met," Flip said to her.

Holly blushed. "Are you saying that because you like me, or because you met Shelly first?" she joked.

"Hey, there's no one else to compare you to- and it's a high honor, being your bodyguard..." As he said this, music began to play. _(In the style of 'Let Me Be Your Wings', from Thumbelina... Original rights belong to Don Bluth, so please don't sue us). _

_~I will keep you safe_

_I will always be at your side_

_I will always be near when you need me most_

_I will keep you safe_

_I will never leave you behind_

_Princess have no fear, I'll be close_

_No matter what the danger_

_No matter what the cost_

_I will be your hero_

_And you'll never feel lost~_

As he sang, they walked along the path, Flip swaying around her, making her turn around... though he wasn't in sight when she turned back, and she looked around. He stuck his head out from behind a curtain of flowery vines, and she smiled at him.

Now, after Flip's verse, it would be time for Holly to sing...

_If Shaggy and Pugsy didn't cut in and blow the number! _

Yep, the two lunkheads were sitting in a tree, Kay Eye Ess Ess Aye and-

_(Insert Shaggy and Pugsy giving the writer glares of death here)_

Um... anyway, they were sitting atop a branch, they did their ballad. Now, it's hard to imagine how they would sound in a duet, but if Britney Spears and Rebecca Black made a cover together... they would hate it too.

_~He will always protect you_

_He will stick by your side_

_Holly don't be scared at all_

_No need to cryyyyy~_

A pair of birds sitting on the branch developed shocked expressions, their feathers instantly popping off, and the bald little birds hit the ground, unconcious.

**Ugh, I can see why these two are still single...**

Flip cringed, and decided to continue his verse before the guys accidentally caused Holly to go deaf. ...Unfortunately, as he sang, Shaggy and Pugsy backed him up.

_~No matter what the danger_

_(No what kind of danger)_

_No matter what the cost_

_(It will be worth it)_

_I will be your hero_

_And you will never feel loooooossst!~_

He had to stretch that last part to drown out Shaggy when he hit a high-note, dragging it out until Pugsy socked him. "You're off key!" Pugsy hissed.

Thankfully, Holly decided to join in on the song before the guys killed it completely, Flip accompanying her before the guys could botch it.

_~You will keep me safe_

_(I will keep you safe)_

_You will always be at my side_

_Having faith in you, I know it's true_

_I know you'll protect me_

_And stick by my side_

_So I have no need to be scared or cry..._

They reached the palace doors, where Flip escorted her up the steps, and she lightly caressed his face.

_~You will be my hero_

_And I'll never be lost_

_Knowing that you're around to_

_(I'll always be around to)_

_Keep me (you) safe...~_

Holly leaned in and kissed Flip on the cheek... Shaggy and Pugsy watching from the bushes.

_~La la la la laaaaaa~_

Flip smiled, watching Holly enter the palace, pausing to smile back at him. Once the doors shut, he fainted.

Shaggy and Pugsy exchanged smirks, then picked up Flip. "C'mon, lover-boy," Pugsy said.

Shelly walked out a minute later. "I could have sworn a pair of animals were dying out here..." she said. Shrugging, she walked back in.

d~b

**A/N: Flip, I am embarrassed for you XD**

**Well, I know the chapter seemed short and the lyrics were (once again) sappy, but hope you enjoyed. Next chapter... a new challenge arises for our heroes!**


	9. Chapter Eight: Of Plots and Pairings

**Chapter Eight**

**Time for a Back-Up Scheme**

Almost an hour later, Robotnik stormed into his evil lair. "THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" he bellowed. "Those lunkheads were supposed to easy to beat! What the heck happened?!"

Jasper, Horace, Scratch and Grounder lied in hospital beds, wearing arm-and-leg casts and sporting bandages on their heads. Melody was in the process of wrapping up Horace's ankle. "We did as you said, boss. We kidnapped the princess and tried locking her in a tower, but those three blokes managed to get the drop on us!" Jasper told him.

"More like the 'push', considering WE were the ones who took the drop," Scratch commented.

"They took us by surprise, Robotnik," Horace spoke up. "Those three are smarter than they seem,"

"Maybe they just had to be smarter than you guys," Melody said with a chuckle.

"Shut up, ya dumb blonde!" Scratch sneered. Melody sneered, then pushed a button, making the mattress close on him. "OOF! LET ME OUT!"

"Then you'll have to be smarter than they are!" Robotnik snapped, responding to Horace's statement.

"But how? With those three guarding the princess, we won't have a shot!" Grounder replied.

Robotnik cracked his knuckles, glaring darkly. "Which is why we're going to take them out- _one_ by _one_,"

d~b

While Robotnik was scheming, Princess Holly sat in her bedroom with Shelly, brushing their hair as they prepared to get ready for bed, Holly humming the song she and Flip sung in the last chapter. "Well, you seem to be in a good mood," Shelly noticed right away. "You haven't stopped humming since Flip walked you inside... something going on?"

"Yes, something wonderful," Holly sighed, dreamily. "Oh, Shelly, I don't know how to describe it. Every time I'm with Flip, I just feel so... ecstatic! Euphoric, even! It's like all the grief and worry I've felt just melts away..."

Shelly smiled. "Ah, young love. I remember feeling the same way when I was in Junior High," her smile faded. "But, your majesty, there's some things you should consider."

"Like what?"

"Well, you're only 12 years old, so I wouldn't recommend rushing into romance too quickly, until you learn a little more about it. You're still young to go on dates- I would suggest just hanging out as friends, until you get to know this kid, rather than fall for the 'Love At First Sight' syndrome- Believe me, Snow White went through the same thing, and two weeks after her marriage, she found out her husband wasn't as charming as he looked."

Holly nodded.

"And, one more thing... Flip's a Musketoon- a commoner. Non college-bound."

"So, if we were to fall in love, it would be forbidden?" Holly smiled. "How romantic!"

Shelly sighed, rubbing her face. "Thanks a lot, Disney... Look, Holly, you're still a bit young to understand. Just give it a couple more years, and you'll see." she grabbed a soda and began to sip it.

"Well, what about you? Don't you think Shaggy or Pugsy would be good boyfriends?"

"SSPPTTHHH!" Shelly spewed the soda, a shocked expression on her flustered face. "ARE YOU FRICKIN' KIDDING ME?! ME and one of THOSE knuckleheads?! Good grief, it's bad enough people tried pairing me up with Clamhead! Dating one of THOSE dweebs would be worse!"

"Oh come on. Shaggy's really nice,"

"Shaggy's a wimp, though. I'd like a guy with some brains and brawn, and wouldn't chicken out at the slightest gust of wind!"

Holly smirked. "So you'd prefer Pugsy,"

"Mr. Loudmouth?! What makes you think he and I would be a good pair?!"

The princess had to stifle a chuckle. "Well, you both yell a lot and insult people,"

Shelly rolled her eyes. "Oh yes- he shouts at me, I punch him. That would be a REAL stable relationship!"

Holly snickered, lying down in bed. "Goodnight, Shelly,"

Shelly walked over to her own bed. "Sheesh, the pairings they come up with these days!"

d~b

**A/N: Okay, yes, I know it's another short chapter, but I'm saving the action for the next chapter. Also, I AM debating on making a PugsxShelly pairing, though I'm not sure yet. (It's almost kind of scary picturing those two together)**

**Anyway, please review. No flames!**


	10. Chapter Nine: Anger Clouds the Mind

**Chapter Nine**

**Pugsy's Provocation**

Later that night, the castle was quiet, the only ones making any movement were either the palace guards out on the wall and courtyards, or the Musketoon trio that patrolled the corridors.

Pugsy walked down his post in the Western corridor of the 3rd floor. Shaggy was guarding the 1st floor, while Flip guarded the 2nd (where Holly's room was- go figure). They had Scooby patrol outside as well- every Musketoon team needed a guard-dog, right?

The shorter teen kept his eyes open. After today, he wasn't going to let anyone get through him- and if someone so much as mentioned the word 'werewolf', he was going to punch them so hard in the face, their grand-kids would be cross-eyed. "You freak out ONE TIME, and even the cowards start making cracks about ya," he muttered. "We'll see who's joking around next time there's a mummy walking around, and they're the ones needing protection,"

His griping was interrupted when a swift shadow passed by a window.

Drawing his sword, he stepped up to the window, peeking out and seeing someone swing down from the roof-

*CRASH!*

...into the wall.

"Ah, great, a bunch of Daredevil fans are trying to break in," He climbed out the window, jumping down and grabbing a tapestry and swinging down on it heroically-

*Rrrriip!*

*Thud!*

...up until it ripped and he landed on his rear- on top of someone. "Sheesh, that always works in the movies," he commented.

"Tell me about it," grunted Scratch, whom he had landed on.

"Whoa!" Pugsy got up, aiming his sword at Scratch. "Ah, great, not YOU again. What are you doing here? Did that 200-foot fall give you brain-damage?"

"Ha! For your information, I don't HAVE a brain to damage!"

Pugsy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I've noticed. So what brings you to the neighborhood? In need of another butt-kicking?"

"Yeah, only it's YOUR butt we'll be kicking!" Jasper boasted, sneaking up behind Pugsy and kicking him in the rear.

"HEY!" Pugsy whirled around, swinging his sword at Jasper, who dodged.

Scratch konked him on the head, and the shorter teen turned to face him, allowing Jasper to shove him- Scratch had stuck his arm out, causing Pugsy's face to come into contact with it and stumble back, Jasper tripping him from behind. The two lackeys laughed and took off.

Pugsy growled then grabbed his sword, racing after them. "You pinheads are DEAD! You hear me?! DEAD!"

Scratch and Jasper ran along the wall... passing Horace, who was smashed against it. "C'mon, Horace! He snagged the lure!" Jasper told him, prying him off the wall and dragging him along.

"Oh, good... so the migraine was worth it..." Horace babbled, dazed as he stumbled after them.

They ran up the stone steps, going along the wall, Pugsy hot in pursuit. "I'll show 'em who they're messing with," he groused as he ran. "I'll do to them what I did to those jerks in Junior High! They won't see straight for weeks!"

The three henchmen ran along the wall. A few guards noticed them and came charging. "GROUNDER, NOW!" Scratch shouted.

Grounder, standing around a corner of a watch-tower on the wall, blew into his left drill... and had an inflatable Jessica Rabbit model pop out- don't ask how he does these things, because as far as we can tell, it makes no sense. But, logic was denied, as he stuck it out around the corner in front of the guards, who froze in their steps- hearts in their eyes and tongues hanging out. They followed the model around the corner...

"YEEEOOOOOW!" They all cried, obviously missing the giant hole Grounder had made. He then followed Jasper, Horace and Scratch as they ran by, Pugsy still on their tail.

The lackeys then swung down the wall via grappling hook, heading towards a bridge. Once they would cross the bridge, they would be off the castle property, thereby could get away as Pugsy couldn't leave his post.

The shorter teen slid down the rope after them, running as fast as he could towards the bridge. He got to the middle of it, looking around, seeing nothing but the roaring river below. "Where'd you go, you ignorpotomases?" he muttered, cautiously looking around.

The lackeys were hanging over the side of the bridge, grinning. Slowly, Jasper and Horace climbed over. Their feet made a 'thunk' sound, alerting Pugsy, who spun around and pointed his sword at them. "Stay where you are!" he warned, then arched an eyebrow. "Wait, where's the other two?"

Scratch had extended his feet over the under side of the bridge, coming up the other side and kicking Pugsy in the back of the head. Jasper and Horace grabbed him by the arms, making him drop the sword. He thrashed in their grips, swinging his left arm so that Horace collided with Jasper. But Scratch climbed up next with a sledgehammer, swinging it at him, but Pugsy dodged just in time, causing the chicken-like robot's arms to swing around himself, tying himself up, and Pugsy socked him in the jaw.

Horace and Jasper ganged up on him once again. "What makes you think you can beat us on your own, pipsqueak?!" Jasper taunted. "You're no Musketoon!" He dodged when Pugsy tried to punch him.

"Aye, you're nothing but a short-tempered shrimp!" Horace added, shoving him. Pugsy swung his fists again, but Horace jumped back.

"You couldn't beat us if we were already dead!" Scratch threw in, kicking Pugsy in the back, making him fall on his hands and knees.

Pugsy saw his sword in front of him and grabbed it, turning and aiming it at the three goons. "You'll be saying different when I cut you to ribbons!" he snarled.

Grounder rose above the edge, right behind him. "Oh yeah?" he scoffed, then hit Pugsy on the head with a hammer, causing a bump.

The four lackeys then forced him to his feet, shoving him into one another so that they could swing some punches. Pugsy, though dazed, tried to fight back, but Scratch took out a crow-bar and hit him in the temple, knocking him out cold.

Chuckling, they grabbed Pugsy and threw him over the bridge, watching as he hit the ice-cold water, sinking into the rushing current. "One down, two to go..." Jasper said, maliciously.

d~b

**A/N: And the Pugsy fans are going to kill me. Next chapter... it gets worse.**

**Review now, please! (but, um, hold back on the flames, k?)**


	11. Chapter Ten: Run, Coward, Run

**Chapter 10**

**Shaggy's Shock**

On the first floor of the castle, Shaggy was walking down the corridor, petrified even though he didn't know something terrible had happened to one of his friends.

"Man, why did we have to split up? If I wanted to wander around creepy castles at night by myself, I'd go back to solving mysteries!" he said nervously to himself, keeping his sword up and looking around, his eyes darting left to right. "'Lets join the Musketoons!', they said. 'It'll be fun!' they said. 'No one will mess with us!' they said. ...Like, if this job didn't have neat uniforms, I'd go back to being a janitor! I..."

An aroma lingered in the air just then, interrupting Shaggy's griping. He froze, sniffing at the air, his mouth salivating as his brain processed the familiar scent.

A hot triple-cheese, double veggie, pepperoni and parmesan pizza!

"Something tells me it's time for a snack break!" Shaggy exclaimed, and floated in the air, following the scent.

It lead him down the hall, past the kitchen... where Scooby himself was on his own snack-break, preparing to eat a large hero-sandwich, when he noticed his friend passing by. "Ruh? Raggy?" Scooby inquired, wondering how the lanky teen could pass the kitchen without stopping for a bite. "Where are rou..." he paused, smelling the pizza as well, and licked his lips. "Rizza! R'oh boy!"

Eating his sandwich quickly, he followed the smell, running to pass Shaggy...

Stopping when he noticed it was leading them right out the castle... and there wasn't a pizza delivery guy in sight. That, however, didn't keep Shaggy from continuing to follow the aroma, and Scooby kept following as well, wondering what was going on- and hoping there WAS a pizza somewhere.

They went across the courtyard, going through a gate, down the street, and into an alley, coming to a dead end... where a pizza awaited them. "Alright!" Shaggy exclaimed, picking it up, and spinning it on his finger...

Though, Scooby beat him to eating it, taking several chomps out of it as it spun, leaving only a pepperoni left. "Relicious!" Scooby chuckled.

Shaggy gave a deadpanned expression. "And everyone wonders how I stay so thin..." He froze, though, taking in his surroundings. Without any pizza to distract him, he realized he had left his post... and was now in a dark alley... in the middle of the night.

Scooby began to shake with fear. "Ruh roh..."

"D-Don't worry, ol' buddy... we'll just head back to the castle, no problem!"

Four menacing shadows appeared in the alley just then.

Shaggy paled. "Problem."

Up walked Jasper, Horace, Scratch, and Grounder... wearing goofy/creepy Robotnik masks. "Grrrrr!/Yah!/Rawr!/Boo!" they each shouted.

"OH MY GOSH! We're cornered by bad Lady Gaga impersonators!" Shaggy yelped, and he and Scooby held each other and screamed.

"HOLY CRUD, WHERE?!" Scratch yelped, as he jumped in Grounder's arms, and Horace ducked behind Jasper, who looked around nervously.

Seeing a break in their lines, Shaggy and Scooby sped by, leaving nothing but smoke behind.

"I think they meant us, Jasper." Horace realized, taking off his mask.

"Sheesh, I didn't think these dumb masks would be THAT scary," Grounder said, taking off his mask, looking at it, and throwing it away with a shudder.

"C'mon, lets get 'em!" Jasper exclaimed, and they ran after the cowards.

What they didn't count on was Shaggy and Scooby's amazing track record, as they were already getting close to the castle. However, they had a back-up plan.

When Shaggy and Scooby reached the gates, they stopped for a breath. "C'mon, we'd better check on Pugs and Flip," Shaggy said... until another aroma caught his attention. "What's that?"

Scooby sniffed the air. "Rells rike rookies!" he began to follow.

"Hold it, Scooby, it could be another trap!" Shaggy held up his sword. "We're not falling for that again! No matter HOW good those cookies smell!"

"Reah!"

"No matter WHAT kind they are- which I'm guessing is chocolate chip!"

"Reah!"

"No matter IF they're fresh-baked! With the chocolate all melted... all soft and gooey... with a glasss of milk on the side..."

Scooby gulped. "Reah..."

The twosome looked at each other. "Well... it wouldn't hurt to just scout ahead- but first sign of funny business, and we high-tail it back inside!"

"Right!"

They followed the scent of cookies around the corner-

*Twang!*

...ending up caught in a net, hanging from a tree.

"Either we just fell for another trap, or the girl scouts are REALLY determined to make a sale!" Shaggy whimpered.

Horace, Jasper, Scratch, and Grounder came up, chuckling evilly.

Despite being tangled in a net, Shaggy showed no signs of fear.

"OH PLEASE DON'T KILL US!" he screamed/begged.

...never mind.

"Oh, we're not going to kill you," Jasper replied smugly.

"Really?" Scooby asked.

"...Yet." Jasper cut the rope, causing the net to drop. "We'll give you a fighting chance,"

Shaggy began to tremble, holding up his sword. "I-I'm warning you! I know how to use this!" he stammered.

"And we know how to use these!" Scratch replied, as the lackeys whipped out an assortment of guns, blades, dynamite, and a rabid wolverine.

Shaggy and Scooby were sent running in a heartbeat.

The cowards ran to the back of the castle wall, where a stack of large tires were. They hid in one of them. "Like, I don't think things could get any worse," Shaggy whimpered...

Then the tire started to roll, the lackeys having found it, and sent it rolling downhill!

"NEVER MIND! THEY GOT WOR-OR-OR-ORSE!"

And wor-or-or-orse it got, as the tire went up a ramp, suddenly flying through the air! Shaggy and Scooby poked their heads out, seeing they were hovering in a cloudline. "Are we rin reaven?" Scooby asked.

Shaggy looked down, paling as he saw they were miles high, and gulped. "No... but I think we're going to get there soon!"

"YEOW!" The two of them cried as the tire plummeted towards the earth, hitting with an embrasive impact, causing it to bounce along down a road. By the time it stopped and fell on its side, the cowards were both terrified AND nauseas.

Scooby climbed out first, quickly running and throwing up in the nearest trash-can in an alley. Shaggy groaned, weakly standing up, only to drop to his knees. A large shadow fell over him just then. "Well, men, I was wrong about you- you really DO know how to bring someone down to their knees!" said a familiar voice.

Shaggy looked up, gasping when he saw Robotnik standing there... with an axe! "Captain Doctor Robotnik?!" he shouted in disbelief, then paused. "...Like, why did I see that coming?"

"Don't spoil my good mood," Robotnik swung his axe, but Shaggy dodged. He kept swinging, but Shaggy kept dodging. "Hold still! I'm trying to kill you!"

"Zoinks!" Shaggy jumped back, tripping over an uprooted tree root, falling back. Robotnik chuckled, raising his axe, and all the coward could do was cover his eyes.

*CHOMP!*

"AGH!" Robotnik dropped the axe, screaming in pain. Shaggy looked, seeing that Scooby had bit the villain on the rear, ripping off a chunk of his pants... and revealing a pair of 'Hello Kitty' shorts. Robotnik covered his exposed backside, blushing while giving a weak smile to the audience.

"RUN SCOOB!" Shaggy screamed, and the duo took off as fast as they could go, running down the street.

A delivery truck pulled up in front of them just then. "Hey, need a lift?" the driver asked.

"Like, to the castle, and fast!"

"Hop in the back!"

Shaggy climbed into the back of the truck... only to see the lackeys there, and without hesitation they jumped him, tying him up in chains! Scooby gasped and jumped out, Grounder and Horace running after him with a net, but the Great Dane outran them, heading back to the castle to get help.

"The mutt's getting away!" Horace shouted.

"Never mind the mutt! We've got who we were after," Jasper replied, as he and Scratch threw Shaggy into a corner of the truck. He looked ahead at the driver. "Alright, Melody! Take him to the secret lair and throw him in the cell! Robotnik can give him the 'Villain's Treatment' later..."

"Ooh, sounds nice!" Melody replied, giggling.

"Oh, it's anything BUT..." Robotnik replied, stepping up and giving Shaggy an evil look. "Don't worry, my dear boy- I'll make it as slow and painful as possible... AFTER I take care of one more 'obstacle'..."

Chuckling, the lackeys shut and locked the truck's doors, leaving the helpless coward trembling in the dark.

d~b

**A/N: And now Shaggy's fans will be after me. ...Well, that only leaves Flip... and it will not end well.**

**Now review.**


	12. Chapter 11: And Then There Was One

**Chapter 11**

**Flip's Fall and Flashback**

Scooby ran as fast as he could go, straight back to the castle, praying to God that the villains weren't following. "Rip! Rugsy! Relp! Relp!" he called, running and searching the castle.

Flip, meanwhile, was walking down the first-floor corridor. "Hey, Shaggy, did Pugsy go on break? I went to switch posts with him but he wasn't... Shaggy?" he called, seeing the corridor was empty. "Hey, where is everybody?"

"Rip! Rip!"

Flip heard the Great Dane, and saw him running up to him. "Scooby, what's the matter?" he asked.

"Raggy's rin trouble!"

"Raggy? You mean Shaggy? And he's in trouble?"

"Reah! Where's Rugsy?"

"Pugsy? I don't know- I didn't seem him at his post."

"R'oh no! They rot Rugsy roo!" Scooby grabbed Flip and took off towards the castle's exit. "We rotta ret rout of here!"

"WHOA! Hold it Scooby! Stop! Heel!" Flip pulled out of his grip by the time they reached the outside steps. "Now tell me what's going on!"

"Robotnik ras ris revil reme rand rired a roup of rad ruys ro rill us! Row they've rot Raggy, Rugsy, rand we right re rext!" Scooby explained hastily.

Flip blinked. "Um, Scooby... I didn't understand a word of that. Can you repeat it."

Scooby cried out in frusteration. "ROBOTNIK. IS. THE. RAD GUY!"

"Robotnik is the 'rad guy'? ...Wait, you mean bag guy?"

"Reah!"

"But... he made us Musketoons!"

"Rit was a trick!"

Flip stood there, pondering this. "But... if he made us Musketoons, and had us guard the princess, but is trying to kill us... that means..." He froze, gasping, and ran back towards the castle entrance. "We've got to warn Princess Holly!"

A sword-blade stuck out in front of him just then, as Robotnik stepped out of the shadows. "You're not going anywhere, pipsqueak." the villain growled.

Flip drew his own sword, glaring at Robotnik, while Scooby stood at his side, growling. "Robotnik, with the authority as a Musketoon, I'm placing you under arrest!"

Robotnik only laughed. "Oh yeah? Well with the authority of my fist, I'm placing you unconscious!"

Flip gasped and tried to swing his sword-

*BAM!*

Robotnik was too quick, using his own sword to block Flip's, while he decked him, knocking the nine-year-old unconcious! ...Yes, apparently Robotnik is so evil, he'll even beat up kids. (We'll e-mail you his home address so you may clobber him yourselves).

Scooby growled and lunged, but Robotnik's lackeys slammed a barrel over him! "It's a trip up the river for you, mutt!" Robotnik laughed, while grabbing the unconcious Flip by the shirt collar. "And as for THIS one..."

d~b

When Flip came to, he noticed he was in the air, hovering above a gorge, 1000 feet in the air. "Rise and shine, kiddo! You wouldn't want to sleep past your untimely demise!" Robotnik hollered, standing by the cliff's edge, where the other end of the rope was tied to a tree-branch, an unlit candle placed under it. Robotnik pulled out a lighter, igniting a flame. "Any last words?"

"Don't think you've beaten us, Robotnik! Shaggy and Pugsy will be after you in a heartbeat!" Flip sneered.

Robotnik scoffed. "Shaggy? That coward took off running!"

"Well... Pugsy then!"

"The loudmouth? ...he's getting fitted for a halo."

Flip's eyes widened. "No... No!"

"Yes... Yes! So much for the three Musketoons... now it's just you," Robotnik lit the candle. "Normally I'd just kill off my enemies... but I'm not one to kill a child- so I'll just wait for the rope to snap, and you can fall to your death by yourself. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a crown with my name on it!" With that and an evil laugh, Robotnik took off.

Tears formed in Flip's eyes, and he tried to swing over to the cliff- but the line was too far out. He tried to wriggle his arms free, but the rope was tied tight around his entire torso. He had to stop moving, as his actions were causing the rope to snap faster.

The nine-year-old tried to rack his thoughts together, he had to think of a plan, quick! But all that passed through his mind were memories.

[Now Playing: _My Immortal, by Evanescence_]

_It was a dark, stormy night, a young five-going-on-six year old Flip sitting in a small house, listening to the wind blow and thunder crash outside. "Dad! Henry! Stanley! Suzy!" he called, hiding under a coffee table. He sneezed violently. "Oh, I wish I wasn't sick... when will they be back? ...Tom! Alan! Anne!" _

_*Crack, boom!*_

_He flinched, hearing lightening blow off a tree-branch outside. "Nancy? Scooter? Mimi? Chu-Chu? ...oh, please get back soon..." _

_*Crash!*_

_The wind blew harshly, and suddenly a tree-branch broke through the window. Flip yelped and ran out of the house, watching in horror as an entire tree fell and landed on the roof. He ran through the streets, fighting against the wind. The family lived on the outskirts of town, and he didn't know any of the neighbors, so he kept running, keeping a blanket wrapped around him as he searched for someone to help. _

_He made it to an alley, where he took shelter on a doorstep with an awning, to wait out the storm. _

_Hours passed, and the storm stopped, the morning gray but warm, and he got up, walking down the street back to his house, seeing the firefighters there, inspecting damage. "Son, do you know who lives here?" they asked._

_"My family and I," Flip replied, coughing a bit._

_"Where is your family?"_

_"They went out to the country, before the storm hit." _

_The fire-fighters exchanged glances. "Son, what's your last name?"_

_"Chan... is something wrong?"_

_"Why don't you go sit over by our truck, son? Have some hot chocolate,"_

_Flip did so, but walked back over to see if they could call his dad, overhearing them talking. "We'll have to tell him," the first officer said._

_"It won't be easy." The second replied with a heavy sigh. "How do you tell a child that his family has been reported in a wreck, the survivors nowhere to be found?"_

_Flip gasped, tears forming in his eyes, and he took off running, ignoring the firefighters when they called to him to return. He kept running until his tears blurred his vision, and he stopped in an alley, sitting and sobbing._

_For the next couple days, Flip wandered the town, avoiding authorities. Though young, he had been on enough cases with his father, Detective Charlie Chan, to know that when a child is orphaned, they get put into foster-care. His stomach ached from lack of nutrition, and his cold became more severe as he couldn't find warm enough shelter. He scrounged around for food, his blanket had torn, and he started to lose strength._

_Finally, he collapsed in an alley, inside a large cardboard box. _

_He would have died then and there, if two figures didn't find him. "Zoinks! It's a kid!" Shaggy gasped. "Oh man, I think I'm going to be sick..."_

_"Take it easy, Shag, he's still breathing, but he looks real sick. We'd better get him somewhere warm, otherwise he's not going to make it. I'll carry him, you go back to our place and preparify some soup,"_

_"But... we don't have soup!"_

_"Then recycle some bottles and use the change to buy a couple cans!"_

_Flip felt himself being picked up, but had gone unconcious._

_When he came to, he was in a ranshack house, with a wood-burner stove and two mattresses, and a sink. with a Great Dane puppy lying in the corner. A tall lanky teen of 14 was stirring something in a rusted pot, while a shorter teen of 15 walked in with a bottle. "I knew we had some cough-syrup left..." he began, then noticed Flip. "Hey, you're awake,"_

_"Good timing, your soup's almost ready," the lanky teen replied._

_"Who are you guys?" Flip asked, a bit alarmed._

_"I'm Shaggy, and that's Pugsy,"_

_"Ra-hem!" The puppy spoke._

_"Oh, and that's my puppy, Scooby Doo."_

_"Rello!"_

_"You really scared us, kid. We found you collasperated in an alley," Pugsy told him. "What were you doing out in the streets?"_

_"I... I have nowhere to go," Flip replied, tearfully. "My family is gone... I've been waiting for them to come back, but..." he began to cough violently._

_"Here, take some of this," Pugsy gave him a spoonful of the cold medicine. "Where are they?"_

_"I don't know... they've been missing for three days. I don't know what to do!"_

_Shaggy and Pugsy looked at each other. "Well, like, you can stay with us until they get back," the lanky teen replied._

_"Yeah- we don't really have anywhere to go, either. Our friends took off," Pugsy added._

_Flip rubbed his eyes. "Really? You don't mind?"_

_"Not at all. What's your name, kid?"_

_"Flip... Flip Chan."_

_"Well, Flip, welcome to our humble home,"_

Flip sniffled, hanging his head low in despair. He had no family or friends now. He was alone.

[End song]

d~b

**A/N: ...And now Flip's fans will be out for revenge. Poor kid, all hope is lost...**

**OR IS IT?!**

**Also, I just put the title of the song, because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to write in lyrics :P**

**Review and see what happens! Flame if you want to get impaled with a flamingo!**


	13. Chapter 12: Apologies For Bad Writing!

**Chapter 12**

**How Many Were Expecting This?**

Down in the deep, dank, dark, diabolical dungeon of the evil Captain Doctor Robotnik (whose extended name sounds even more vain the more we use it), Shaggy was stuck in a cell, gripping the bars while trembling in fear, while Melody sat on a stool, texting. "Like, I can't believe it... One minute, I think I've finally reached the top, and one tire-trip of terror later, I'm locked away with no means of escape, waiting for my ex-boss who's actually a villain to come down and KILL me!" he whimpered.

"Could be worse- it could all be happening on a Monday!" Melody joked. "And don't worry, I'm sure Robotnik won't kill you- he's giving you the 'villain's treatment', so I think it'll be more of a spa day for you! ...I guess he must like you, because normally he's always having his robots beat up people who make him mad."

Shaggy gave her a look. "Are you just fooling with me, or do you even KNOW what the Villain's Treatment is?"

Melody scratched her head. "To tell the truth, no. What is it?"

Shaggy shuddered. "Lets just say, that those who DON'T live through it are the lucky ones..."

Melody gasped. "Oh my gosh, he IS going to kill you?! What did you ever do to him?"

"Stood in his way after he made me a Musketoon... Man, where did I go wrong in life? First my gang splits up and we lose contact with each other, then I end up losing twelve jobs and end up on the streets, and now my friends and I are doomed!"

Melody walked over. "Your friends split up too? Why?"

Shaggy sighed. "They just wanted to do something different with their lives- exploring haunted houses and finding out the ghost is just some kook in a costume started to be a drag. Eventually, we all moved to different towns- Scoob and I were on our own at 14, since our parents couldn't afford to feed us,"

"Oh... you came from a poor family?"

"No- we just went through groceries in less than a week. Then, our folks had to go live with relatives for a while, leaving us in charge of the house- unfortunately, they never came back, Scoob and I couldn't take care of the payments... and that's when we figured we became abandoned."

Melody gasped. "That's awful,"

Shaggy then held up a copy of the story's script. "Well, don't blame me, I didn't write the material. (where am I... oh yeah...) We ended up on the streets, trying to contact the gang, but couldn't reach them; same with other family members. We wouldn't have survived if Pugs didn't take us in,"

"Who is he?"

"He's a friend of ours. He used to have a gang too, but then there was an argument, and he just ended up on his own too. He didn't have any parents- at least, none the fans know of- so he had to take care of himself. He got a job, but got fired and couldn't pay the rent, so he ended up on the streets next... the economy back then wasn't exactly sky-rocketing as you can tell... but he learned to manage. He took care of Scoob and I, as long as we pulled our weight- and didn't go through the food supplies too quick- and later we found Flip, learned he lost his family, and took him in."

"Wow... that must have been difficult to deal with,"

Shaggy held up the script again. "Truth be told, the pain went away with every rehearsal and raise in our salary." he tossed the script. "What about you? How come such a nice girl like you is working for a creep like Robotnik?"

Melody blushed, smiling. "Well, I used to be in a band, but our lead guitarist and manager decided to get married, so we all decided to take a vacation. I just got a job working for Robotnik because the ad said 'Will Hire Any Idiot', so I figured they really needed help. It doesn't include much- he just said I can't push any buttons or pull any levers unless I'm told, not to tell anyone that his secret lair is hidden beneath the old watch factory on 3rd street, and not to interact with any of his prisoners." she scowled a bit. "But, learning that he's hurting such a nice guy like you makes me reconsider my employment."

Melody walked over and took some keys off the wall. Shaggy's eyes widened as he grinned. "You're letting me go? Really?"

"Sure!" Melody opened the cell door. "C'mon, I'll show you the way out!"

"Thanks! I really owe you one!" Shaggy followed her out of the dungeon, up some stone steps. "Like, what can I do to pay you back? Dinner? Movie? Tickets to the Skillet concert?"

Melody giggled. "Why, Shaggy, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were asking me on a date!"

Shaggy blushed. "Well... we could do that too. I mean, you DID just spare my life."

Melody smiled. "Anyone would spare a nice guy like you- except Robotnik, but that's because he's heartless, and not a sweetheart like you." she paused. "You know, you're actually the first nice guy I've seen in a while!"

Shaggy chuckled. "Thanks, you're a pretty nice girl yourself."

They made it through the lab, passing by machines as they made technotic beeps that made somewhat of a musical pattern.

**Huh boy, they didn't warn us that there was going to be a TECHNO song!**

"I wouldn't mind going out with you, either." Melody continued to Shaggy. "Something about you kind of makes me all bubbly inside,"

"Really? How so?" Shaggy asked.

"Lets see, how should I put it...?" Melody then began to sing (_in the form of "My Gameboy" by S3RL)_

_~It just feels so nice to be with someone_

_To talk to, about anything we want to_

_And hang around with a guy_

_With a good heart, _

_And doesn't care if I'm not too smart_

_The way you make me feel is so delightful_

_Like a sunny afternoon_

_I know I did the right thing setting you free_

_Now I feel free too..._

They passed by some machines with flashing lights, lasers shooting out around them though they managed to dodge them, as if on a DDR machine.

~_You're a sweet boy_

_The only sweet boy_

_I've ever known for so long_

_Who fills my heart with a song (song)_

_A cool boy_

_You're not a fool, boy_

_Come along with me_

_You're my escapee~_

They then came across a part of the lair which was crowded with killer robots, lights flashing along a metallic square-tiled floor, looking like a disco dance-floor. The robots lunged at them, but they managed to dodge them, making them crash into each other, using pipes to pole-vault over them or bash their heads in (apparently Robotnik settles for pretty cheap equipment).

And if bashing them didn't knock them out, Shaggy's verse sure did.

~_Don't underestimate yourself_

_Because you're groovy too_

_Never in my whole life_

_Have I met a girl like you_

_I found myself captured by_

_A super-genius real-bad guy_

_But now I'm finally free_

_Thanks you you, Melody~_

They made it past the robots and made it to a hover-disc, stepping on and soaring through the lab, swaying past all the obstacles, as Melody wrapped up the song.

_~You're a sweet boy_

_The only sweet boy_

_I've known in so long_

_Who fills my heart with a song (song)_

_A cool boy_

_You're not a fool boy_

_So come along with me_

_You're my escapee..._

_Come escape_

_Escape_

_Escape with me_

_Escape, oh escape_

_You're my escapee~_

They made it out of the lab, via escape chute that shot them into the air through a secret tunnel in the ground, and they landed in the tall grass, rolling downhill until they were side-by-side, the final technotic notes of the song beeping their last beep, as the two closed in for a kiss.

*SPLASH!*

Melody gasped. "What was that?" she asked.

Shaggy looked off-screen. "Like, I think someone shot the song-writer." he answered, then stood up quickly. "Speaking of untimely demises, I need to get back to my friends! They're in danger!" he looked around. "Which way is it back to the castle?"

Melody pointed to a river. "Follow the river eastward, it leads back to the castle. That's how I always manage to find my way, at least."

"Thanks, Melody! You're a great help!" Shaggy then kissed her once more, then followed the river, waving to her. "I won't forget this!"

"Good luck! ...And call me!" Melody waved to him until he was out of sight, then stood there. "Hmm... maybe I should go with him. Oh well, I'll just go call my friends and see what's new. Maybe I can get a new job, too- oh, that rhymed! Maybe I could take over writing the songs, hee hee."

d~b

**A/N: Hooray for Melody- and sorry about the horrible lyrics (maybe Melody would be better at writing the songs, huh?). Next chapter, a rescue is amust!**

**Please review, but no flames (no matter HOW much you hate techno).**


	14. Chapter 13: Where's Pugsy?

**Chapter 13**

**The Rescue Chapter!**

Shaggy raced along the river, heading for the castle, hoping that his friends were capable of handling them- oh who am I kidding?! Flip's just a kid and is dangling over a river of death, and Pugsy was hotheaded enough to get duped into an early grave! I think even _Shaggy_ would realize things didn't end well!

His realization was proven correct when a barrel floated past him, and he heard a familiar cry. "Relp! Relp!"

Shaggy stopped dead in his tracks. "Scoob?!" he gasped, then ran after the barrel. "Hang on, Scooby Doo! I'll save you!"

He raced ahead of the barrel, seeing a waterfall ahead. The barrel was in the middle of the river, which was 20 feet wide, and there was a branch that hung near the end of the falls. Thinking hard and thinking fast, Shaggy raced to that branch, climbing up and hanging upside down from it, using his sword (which somehow reappeared in his grasp after losing it- we're denying logic here) to jab into the edge of the barrel, bending it and making the lid pop off.

Scooby popped out, relieved. "Raggy!" he exclaimed.

"Grab my hand, Scooby!" Shaggy said, holding his hand out, and Scooby grabbed it-

*Crack!*

Unfortunately, the branch could only handle so much weight, and the duo were back in the river, going over the falls! "YEOOW-!" they both screamed.

*sploosh*

...What they failed to notice was that the waterfall was only 3 feet tall.

"Well... that was humiliating." Shaggy deadpanned, and they got out of the river. "Scooby! What happened?! Where's Pugs and Flip?"

Scooby whimpered. "Robotnik rot 'em!"

"Robotnik?! Oh no... Quick, back to the castle! We can still warn the princess!"

Back up the river they ran, heading for the castle. Halfway there, Scooby heard someone down the road. "Raggy, rad ruys!" he gasped, and they hid in the bushes, watching as Grounder and Horace walked by.

"Ha! That pooch will be sleeping with the fishes tonight!" Horace chuckled.

"Yeah! He really took a dive!" Grounder added. "...Okay, I'm out of puns, what do we do now?"

"We go back to the castle. Robotnik said that once he finishes dangling that brat off Cannibal Cliffs, we're going to ambush the princess, and he's going to force her to resign from her duties and give him the throne, then he's going to kill her!"

"Oh, cool! ...But, um, how is he going to get her to sign it over?"

"He'll threaten to kill her,"

"But... he's going to kill her anyway..."

"It's called manipulation, you bloke! Haven't you've ever lied before?!"

"Only to my letters to Santa Clause..."

The two lackeys walked off, and Shaggy and Scooby popped out of the bushes. "Like, oh no! Flip's in trouble!" Shaggy gasped. "Maybe it's not too late, we've got to go save him!"

"What rabout the rincess?" Scooby asked.

Shaggy thought hard. "Scooby, you go warn the princess, you're faster! I'll go rescue Flip!"

With that, they took off, Scooby running back to the castle, keeping to alleys and back-roads so not to be spotted by the villains. Shaggy raced down the path that lead to Cannibal Cliffs, praying Flip was still alive.

d~b

Flip didn't realize how long he had been moping until he felt a jolt, noticing a couple threads of the rope had snapped from the burning candle. He gasped, then tried again to wriggle his arms free, without causing too much tugging that would cause the rope to break quicker. He kicked his legs, trying to swing towards the ledge like he did the first time, but still couldn't reach it.

*Snap!* The rope broke, and Flip plummeted- but stopped, just 990 feet above the gorge. He looked up, seeing that there was a large knot in the rope that caught in a fork in the suspension, delaying his demise.

Taking a chance, he tried swinging himself close to the side of the cliff. He made it! He caught an outcrop with his ankle- maybe, just maybe, he could 'walk' up the cliff...

No good. With his torso bound, he wasn't able to keep his body level, and the outcrops weren't stable and crumbled under his weight, causing him to swing back out, then back in head first-

*Crack!*

"Ugn!" Flip cried after hitting his head, and fell unconcious.

d~b

Shaggy ran as fast as he could, making it to Cannibal Cliffs... problem was, he was on the wrong side, leaving a 50-foot gap between him and Flip! And seeing the nine-year-old in distress didn't really help. "Zoinks! Flip's literately at the end of his rope! Pugs, what are we going to-" Shaggy began to cry, then remembered an important detail that missed his attention.

Pugsy wasn't there.

"Pugs?! Oh no... of all the times we need him!"

Shaggy looked ahead, seeing that the suspension beam was bending forward, snapping halfway! Acting fast, he climbed down the cliff, finding a narrow path that he raced down with cartoon-speed. He stopped to look back up at Flip, seeing that the suspension beam was about to bust clean off. Shaggy looked around, seeing a log draped over a boulder in a see-saw manner, a larger boulder above it.

"Thank God for convenient geographical placements!" Shaggy exclaimed, standing on one end of the log, then chucked a pebble at the boulder above him, making it fall on the other end, launching him through the air, across the gorge, towards Flip-

*SPLAT!*

...smack-dab into the wall.

He pried himself off, and gripped onto some sturdy roots planted deep into the cliffs, now out of ideas on how to save Flip, much less himself. "Looks like this is the end of the Three Musketoons," he sobbed to himself. "Here I am, hanging on for my life... Flip seconds away from a long fall... God knows what's happened to Pugsy! ...Poor guy, first he ends up with a bad fan-fiction addiction, and now he's dead and gone! And we never got to make a Leo Gorcey joke about him!"

"And it had better stay that way!"

Shaggy gasped, looking down. On a path below him, close to the river, was Pugsy, fully alive!

"PUGSY!"

*Snap!*

*Thud!*

...though quite injured since that root snapped and Shaggy fell on him. Quickly, the coward got off of him. "Pugs! We thought you were a goner! What happened?!" Shaggy gasped.

"A bunch of goons sent me falling into a river. The current caught me and dragged me under for a while, until I managed to grab ahold of a log. I passed out, drifting downstream a while, until I came to, just in time to see you launch yourself across a canyon while Flip's dangling nearly a thousand feet high." Pugsy explained, then turned to the audience. "Talk about great timing."

Shaggy gave him a look. "Great for someone who probably got locked inside his trailer- again,"

Pugsy swatted him with his hat. "Are you going to break the fourth wall, or are we going to save Flip? C'mon!"

They raced up the path, climbing upward to a ledge. "What do we do?"

Pugsy looked up at Flip, then down. "We won't reach him before that beam snaps, but if we manage to aim him towards the river, it might weaken the impact, and if the beam falls towards the edge of the bank-"

*Crack!*

The suspension beam finally gave way, and Flip began to plummet. "JUMP, QUICK!" Pugsy shouted.

The duo jumped, grabbing onto Flip while changing his direction, so rather than him hitting the rocky bottom, they landed in the river. The beam crashed on the bank, the knotted end of the rope snagging between some rocks, preventing the trio from being pulled with the current. They untied Flip, hanging on to him while using the rope to pull themselves to shore, and carried him up a path back to the top of the cliffs while waiting for him to come to.

"Flip, talk to me, little buddy." Pugsy said gently, shaking him a bit.

Flip groaned, opening his eyes. His vision was blurry at first, but he soon saw his two friends clearly. "Shaggy...?" he gasped. "Robotnik said you ran away..."

"I ran away from him, but I was trying to get back to you guys." Shaggy replied, tussling his hair. "You think I'm stupid or cowardly enough to leave you behind in a crisis?"

Flip turned to Pugsy. "Pugsy! I thought you were dead!"

Pugsy scoffed. "Ah, no one can get rid of me that- oof!" he began to say, but was slightly interrupted when Flip hugged him tight. "...easily. Heh, I'm tougher than that. Now, c'mon, we've got some Musketooning to do," he paused. "Okay, even for MY vocabulary, that term sounded ridiculous."

Flip's shoulders sagged. "Pugs... Robotnik lied to us. He only made us Musketoons as a cover, just so we'd be easy to get rid of. We're not real Musketoons."

"Not real Musketoons? Flip, how hard did you hit your head?" Shaggy questioned. "I just risked my life coming to rescue you, let alone had to think of ways to get close to saving you- and I'm normally too cowardly or stupid to do things like that!" he put a hand on Pugsy's shoulder. "And Pugsy may be a hot-head, but he managed to keep his cool long enough to help out his friends!"

"Watch it with the hot-head statement," Pugsy commented.

Shaggy put his other hand on Flip. "And you may be a kid, Flip, but you've shown more guts than any other nine-year-old I know, and have a heart full of faith that keeps us all going! Guys, on our own, we might not be the most heroic types, but when one of us is in trouble we know how to be heroes- and when we stick together, no one can stop us!"

"Wow, Shag... that's got to be the boldest thing you've ever said in your entire life!" Flip said.

"...That's the ONLY boldest thing I've ever said in my entire life."

"And possibly the smartest," Pugsy said, then held up his copy of the script. "Which is more than I can say for the rest of the dialogue,"

Flip stood up. "Well, c'mon guys! We've got a princess to save!" he exclaimed.

With that, they headed off back to the castle, ready to prove how heroic they could be... and prove Robotnik wrong.

d~b

**A/N: Hey, double-update! :D Next chapter, THE EPIC BATTLE! Good VS Evil! Heroes VS Villains! Red VS Blue! Cats VS Dogs! The whole shebang! Don't miss it!**

**...oh, and a review would be nice too.**


	15. Chapter 14: Time For The Battle!

**Chapter 14**

**The Epic Battle of Epicness**

Meanwhile, Holly and Shelly walked down a corridor later that morning. "I wonder where our bodyguards are," Holly said. "I haven't seen them around anywhere all morning."

"Probably on break (bunch of slackers)," Shelly scoffed.

Holly shook her head. "No, they wouldn't just take off... I'm concerned, Shelly. I heard a bunch of commotion last night- screaming, crashes, running in the halls... What if something happened to Flip, Shaggy, and Pugsy?"

"Then... I'd talk to Robotnik about getting some new bodyguards,"

The princess sighed. "I hope they're alright... Especially since I'm already doing a favor for Flip."

Shelly arched an eyebrow. "After just one day? Seriously? What kind of favor are we talking about?"

"To find his family, like I promised. I find it strange that his whole family could just disappear like that," She slowed down her pace. "You know what's even weirder? I had sent a message to Shawn K. of the Musketoons to have him and some of his men participate in the search, but apparently he and the rest of the Musketoons got a paid trip to Tahiti."

"Really? The WHOLE Musketoon base is on vacation?"

"I know... And they had left yesterday morning, right after Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip arrived."

"Hold it, hold it, hold it... Lets go over the facts: Someone's trying to kill you. Robotnik sets us up with a bunch of 'professional' bodyguards who consist of a little kid, coward, and loudmouth. Something happens during the night which links to them mysteriously disappearing... and while this is all going on, the rest of the Musketoon army is absent."

Holly knew what Shelly was getting at, and she could tell something was wrong too. "I haven't felt this unnerved since my father died... Shelly, we need to get word to the Musketoons to return at once!"

"Oh, but the Musketoons won't be of any help for the next week," came a voice, as Robotnik stepped in front of them.

"Captain Doctor Robotnik?" Holly gasped. There were footsteps behind her, and she noticed Horace, Jasper, Scratch and Grounder standing in the hall, grinning evilly. Now she was positive something was wrong. "Where are my bodyguards, and why did the rest of your army take a vacation?!"

"Oh, I felt the boys needed some time off," Robotnik said, smirking evilly. "But for the next few hours, I'LL be your bodyguard!"

The girls gasped as the lackeys jumped them from behind. "Oh no! I didn't sign a contract for this movie just to be a damsel in distress!" Shelly shouted, then jabbed Jasper in the face, kicked Grounder in the side of the head, sucker-punched Scratch upside the jaw, and elbowed Horace in the ribs. She then grabbed Holly and began to make a run for it.

Robotnik stepped in her way with his sword. "Oh, no you do-"

With a swift kick, Shelly kicked him... in an unpleasant area.

Robotnik immediately went cross-eyed, his legs buckled, and he let out a high-pitched whimper... then grabbed his shin and began to hop up and down, while the girls ran down the corridor. "That's it! No more mister Nice Guy!"

"Since when were you ever mister Nice Guy?" Grounder asked.

With a *KLONK* Robotnik bashed him over his head. "JUST GO AFTER THEM!"

d~b

Meanwhile, Flip, Shaggy, and Pugsy were racing back to the castle, wind blowing in their faces as they gained speed. "We're almost there! Hang on guys!" Flip called.

"Step on it, Flip!" Pugsy shouted.

"Watch that turn!" Shaggy yelped.

They took a sharp turn, zipping down the road... in a go-cart. "I knew we should have borrowed that Ferrari," Flip commented.

"Yeah, but Cameron and Ferris said they had to keep it under 10,000 miles,"

"Better than this dinky little thing." Pugsy commented.

"How about rather than commenting on our ride, we figure out where Robotnik will be setting up his scheme- no doubt he kidnapped the princess already." Flip remarked.

"He's going to force Holly to sign the kingdom over to him, and then make an announcement of her death before the Skillet concert!" Shaggy gasped.

Pugsy arched an eyebrow. "How do YOU know that?" he questioned.

Shaggy held up a laptop. "It's on his Fakebook page's status... huh, never knew he was a fan of the 'Grumpy Cat' meme..."

"He's going to kill Holly?!" Flip screamed, then slammed his foot down on the acceleration!

*_ZOOM!*_

_"YEEEOOOOWWWW!" _Shaggy and Pugsy screamed as the go-cart was now going _125 miles an hour holy crap!_

And it didn't help that the road ahead was closed!

"FLIP! Hit the breaks!" Pugsy cried.

Flip, however, turned pale. "B-Breaks...?" he stammered.

Shaggy and Pugsy gawked. "YOU DIDN'T PUT IN THE BREAKS?!"

"I knew it was a bad idea to let the nine-year-old drive!" Shaggy cried.

"Never mind that! We're coming to a ramp!" Flip shrieked.

They broke through the 'Road Closed' sign, going up an unfinished highway ramp, soaring clear through the air, crossing the clouds and passing by a flock of ducks (one who gave them a shocked glance, and looked to the audience, blinking in confusion).

They then began to drop towards the road a hundred feet below. "Oh man, we could have had a cool death by falling off a cliff into a raging river of doom- but instead we're going to die in a go-cart!" Shaggy whimpered. "People are going to be laughing at our funeral!"

"...and to my second cousin, I leave my V-Pod, and to my nephew I leave my CD collection..." Pugsy said while writing his will.

"My Lord in Heaven thy kingdom come thy will be done-" Flip was praying, making peace with his maker, because there was very little possibility they would make it.

Yep, there was NO WAY these guys were going to make it out of this alive...

*Squeak!*

*Plop!*

...unless the go-cart landed on a truck hauling a giant bouncy-castle, which had them plop onto a couch someone left lying on the curb.

Gotta love the toon-world.

"O-kay... anyone fine with jogging?" Shaggy asked.

"Lets go!" Flip said, and they rushed down the road, the castle not too far off. "Hopefully we're not too late!"

d~b

Back at the castle, Shelly and Holly were still on the run. "We have to split up!" Holly said.

"Are you nuts?! Bad things ALWAYS happen whenever somebody splits up! Anyone from every horror movie could tell you that, if they were still alive!" Shelly snapped.

"We don't have a choice! You go find help, and I'll lead them away,"

"Holly, did you switch brains with one of those bozos? You're smart enough to know better!"

Holly gave her a firm glance. "Shelly, my father entrusted me with the safety of this kingdom, and I'm not going to just let some villain take it over! I'm going to make my father proud, no matter the danger!"

"...you've been playing those Fantasy Quest games, haven't you?"

"Shelly..."

The lady-in-waiting sighed. "Fine... but if you get killed, don't say I didn't tell you so!"

With that, the two girls split up. Shelly ran out the door to seek help, while Holly ran across the courtyard. The princess let out a whistle, alerting the lackeys who ran in her direction. She ran around a corner where a rose-trellis stood and, tugging on a white rose, had a secret passage in the wall open, sneaking through it and sealing it as the lackeys came by, confused on where she could have gone.

Shelly in the meantime was reaching the back-gates, only to see they were closed, and the guards weren't at their posts! "Ugh, things couldn't possibly get any worse!" she sneered, turning around...

*Shoomp!*

Only to have a burlap back thrown over her head, Robotnik chuckling as he sealed it.

"...and then my manager calls me and says I'm going to be part of a live-action film-flop..." Shelly narrated bitterly.

Holly navigated through some secret tunnels until she was on the top of the castle's tower. She looked around for any sign of the lackeys, seeing they were looking everywhere (including under small pebbles!) in search for her. She looked onward, seeing lights across town.

_Of course! The Skillet concert! _she thought. _If I can make it to the concert, I can warn everyone about Robotnik! _She climbed back down the secret passage, taking a secret tunnel towards the open gate out front, running towards it.

"Going somewhere, princess?" Jasper sneered, as he and the other lackeys caught up to her at last.

Holly gasped as the lackeys closed in on her... then she noticed the switch to the draw-bridge up top. Picking up a rock, she chucked it at the lever- direct hit! The gates came falling down between her and the lackeys, and she ran towards the bridge.

"Oh Princess... aren't you forgetting something?"

Holly turned, her face paling when she saw Robotnik standing on top of the wall, holding a tied-up Shelly over the edge!

"No! Shelly!" Holly cried.

"Let me go, you creep!" Shelly shouted at Robotnik.

"If you insist," Robotnik replied smugly, then mocked-dropped her, catching her while listening to the two girls scream. "Now, either hand over the kingdom to me, or I'll drop her for real!"

"Don't do it, Holly! He's lying! Plus, what's my life worth compared to an entire kingdo- mmf!"

Robotnik stuffed a sock in Shelly's mouth. "What'll it be, Trueblood?!"

Holly winced. "I... I..." she stammered. She didn't trust Robotnik, nor did she just want to turn her back on Shelly. _Oh, she was right... splitting up WAS a dumb idea! _

*BLAM!*

She looked over, seeing that Scratch and Grounder had blown a hole in the gate, and now the lackeys were coming at her!

"Times up, Princess!" Robotnik laughed, then dropped Shelly!

"NO!" Holly screamed, as the lackeys grabbed her.

Shelly let out a muffled scream as she plummeted to the ground... the rope unraveling behind her, and before she hit the ground, sprang right back up!

"Ah, I love messing with people," Robotnik laughed, swinging down the rope after securing it, using Shelly as a step-pad above the ground, much to her annoyance. "Well, Holly, it seems you don't know where to stand. You couldn't even decided between a friend or a kingdom- such a disadvantage to those with pure hearts."

Holly only glared at him.

"Now, I'll ask you one more time... _SIGN OVER THE KINGDOM, OR DIE!"_

*Ptooie!*

Holly spit in his face. The villain sputtered, wiping his face while his lackeys held in a laugh. "THAT DOES IT! LOCK 'EM UP, BOYS!"

The lackeys threw Holly and Shelly into a trunk, locking it. "Brilliant. You locked us in a trunk... how's THIS going to help you get the throne?" Holly questioned.

Robotnik smirked. "Oh, I had a feeling you wouldn't give in, so I made up a 'Plan B'. ...Right men?"

Holly looked out the keyhole, seeing Horace putting on a brown wig and wearing an outfit that matched Holly's. "Tee hee," he giggled, trying to mimic a little girl.

"...boy, I thought these guys were desperate... now I see they're just plain stupid." Shelly scoffed.

"We'll see how 'stupid' I am when our little princess decoy is announcing her resignition at the concert! Then afterwards, it'll be a trip up the river for you!" Robotnik cackled.

"Why don't we just toss them in now?" Jasper asked.

"Because, I like to have my enemies alive long enough to see my victory, so I can rub it in their faces! NOW GET GOING!"

The lackeys yelped then carried the trunk off, throwing it into the back of a truck as they all drove off to the Skillet concert.

Little did they know they were being watched! "Oh no, Holly!" Flip gasped when they reached the bridge, just in time to see the trunk get thrown into the truck, as it sped off past them.

"C'mon, we can still catch up to them!" Pugsy declared. "And this time, I choose the vehicle!"

They looked around for any available vehicle... their eyes falling on a large Monster Truck.

"Perfect,"

Shaggy only gulped.

d~b

The villains drove down the road to the concert, seeing it had already started. "Hey, boss! The concert's already started! How are we going to make the announcement?" Jasper asked.

"Calm down, we'll make the announcement after the first number- that way the crowd will already be hyped up enough," Robotnik replied.

Grounder was leaning against the passenger-window, taking in the breeze, when his eyes fell on the rearview mirror...

[_Now Playing: "Hero" by Skillet]_

...seeing a monster truck, driven by our heroes, gaining on them!

His eyes bugged out and he turned to the others. "Guys! We've got trouble!" he yelped.

"Blimey! It's those Musketoon blokes! But... I thought we bumped them off!" Jasper gasped, looking back as well.

"WHAT?!" Robotnik screamed, looking out the window. To his alarm, his lackeys were actually right for once! "HOW CAN THEY STILL BE AROUND?!"

"M-Maybe they're ghosts!" Scratch yelped.

"Don't be absurd! Why the heck would ghosts be driving monster-trucks?!"

"He's right, ghosts don't drive monster-trucks!" Grounder exclaimed. "Only MONSTERS drive monster-trucks!"

Robotnik got up in their faces. "JUST GET RID OF THEM!"

"Yes sir!" The lackeys cried, then climbed through the window onto the roof of the truck.

"Shaggy, you drive!" Pugsy ordered, handing the wheel over to Shaggy as he climbed onto the roof. "Flip and I will handle this!"

"Right!" Flip agreed, joining him.

The cars were close now, bumper-to-bumper. Horace and Jasper drew their crow-bar and baseball bat, ready to fight, while Scratch and Grounder prepared some nasty tricks.

"Why are you wearing a dress?" Flip called to Horace.

"It's Plan B- and I got the shortest straw," Horace called back.

"Knock it off with the chit-chat and fight, you clod!" Jasper snapped, bonking Horace on the head. They then leaped onto the hood of the monster-truck.

Horace fought against Pugsy while Flip fought against Jasper. The situation wasn't twice as risky as Shaggy couldn't see past the two thugs, swerving in-and-out of the lane, making it difficult for anyone to keep their balance. Meanwhile, Scratch and Grounder were lighting dynamite to throw!

Robotnik got an idea and slammed on the brakes, causing the monster-truck to ram into him, hoping it would knock the two Musketoons off balance (not caring what happened to his henchmen). But instead, Flip, Pugsy, Horace, and Jasper landed on the back of Robotnik's truck, while Scratch and Grounder landed on the hood of the monster-truck!

Scratch and Grounder looked at Shaggy and smirked, throwing the dynamite through his window! Shaggy yelped, then grabbed it and threw it back to Scratch. It soon became a game of hot-potato, until Shaggy looked on the dash-board, getting an idea.

"Go long!" Shaggy shouted, throwing the dynamite as hard as he could.

Scratch quickly reached up his arms, catching it. "Ha! Caught it!" he mocked... then realized he was still holding dynamite!

Shaggy smirked, then hit the 'hood' button on the dashboard, causing the hood to pop up and launch the two lackeys through the air! They screamed, trying to blow out the fuse on the dynamite- too stupid to think about just dropping it- then clung to each other.

*Ka-Boom!*

Soon, it was raining robot parts. Shaggy shut the hood back down, then stepped on the gas to catch up to Robotnik's truck, which managed to gain a few feet ahead of him.

Pugsy and Flip were battling it out with Horace and Jasper, still, as the two thugs were starting to overpower them. Pugsy, however, got an idea and dodged Horace's next swing, managing to get behind him, grab the skirt of the dress he was wearing, and pull it over the thug's head, blinding him! "Oy! Help! I can't see!" he cried out. Pugsy then kicked him over the edge onto the hood of the car.

Robotnik was concentrating on reaching their destination... but it's hard to concentrate when one of your lackeys suddenly falls in front of you, landing on their head and exposing a pair of bloomers. "Gah!" he cried. "HORACE! GET OF THE HOOD!"

Meanwhile, Flip managed to slip through Jasper's legs, getting behind him as Pugsy stepped in to assist the nine-year-old. "Flip, you save the princess!" Pugsy ordered.

"Right!" Flip said, though before he went he tied Jasper's shoe-laces together to give Pugsy an extra advantage.

He then scurried to the edge of the truck, Robotnik swerving a bit trying to get an unconcious Horace off the hood so it was hard to keep steady. There was a ladder bolted to the side, and he started to climb down on that.

Another swerve, and up top Jasper lost his footing and fell over the edge, close enough to snag onto Flip. "Pull a prank on me, will ya?!" he growled, preparing to clobber the nine-year-old...

*BONK!*

A fist slammed on his head just then, knocking the thug out, and he fell flat on the pavement. Flip looked, seeing Shaggy was driving right along side them! He gave his friends a thumbs up, which they returned.

Flip then made his way to release Holly, while Shaggy drove alongside Robotnik, honking his horn to get the villain's attention, giving a mock wave which infuriated Robotnik. Flip reached the door of the truck, losing his balance when Robotnik swerved into the monster-truck, trying to knock Shaggy off-course! The nine-year-old managed to grab hold of the handle on the truck when he fell, unlatching it and having it slide upward, and swung in, finding the trunk and rushing over.

Robotnik and Shaggy were still ramming each other. Horace, still on the hood, came to during the chaos. "Yipe! I'm out of here!" he yelped, lifting the hem of his dress and leaping off, landing in a ditch.

Robotnik slammed into Shaggy, hard enough to make him go off-road. "Ha! There's a sucker-punch for ya!" he shouted.

"And YOU'RE the sucker!" came a sneer, and Robotnik turned-

*BAM!*

Just in time for Pugsy to swing into the window, knocking the villain out of his seat! The truck swerved but the shorter teen managed to get a hold of the wheel, trying to keep it steady while he and Robotnik began to strangle each other.

Flip managed to free Holly and Shelly. "Princess, quick you have to get off the truck!" he cried.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Shelly exclaimed.

"Flip! But... how...?!" Holly gasped, amazed at seeing her hero alive.

"Hurry!" Flip urged, knowing there wasn't time for any explanations. They ran to the door of the truck, which suddenly began to slide shut! He gasped, diving forth and catching it, keeping it held up. "Go! Get off!"

Shelly dove off first, rolling in a ditch. She looked ahead and gasped. "GUYS! UP AHEAD!" she screamed, but wasn't sure if anyone heard her.

*HONK! HONK!*

Pugsy and Robotnik paused their brawl, Shaggy looked ahead, and Flip... well, he didn't need to look to know there was a large semi coming their way! "Holly, you have to go now!" he begged.

"Not without you!" Holly replied.

"I'll be fine! Hurry, save yourself!"

Holly winced... then leaned forth and kissed him on the lips. "You'll always be my hero, Flip Chan," she whispered. He looked at her, starstruck, and watched as she leaped off.

*HONK! HONK!*

Robotnik punched Pugsy in the face, then climbed through a window, but not before taking out a chain and latching it to the door handles of both trucks! With an evil laugh, he prepared to leap out- only to see a loop of the chain caught on his leg! "Oh, crud!" he whimpered.

Flip prepared to jump, but Shaggy and Pugsy swerved out of desperation, causing him to slip backwards into the truck, the door shutting and locking him in!

*HONK HOOOONK!*

Everyone looked forth, seeing the bright, white headlights- the color of their doom.

*CRRRAAAAASSSSSSSSHHHHHH!*

_[End Song]_

Shelly and Holly looked down the road, their eyes widening in horror watching the fiery impact two miles away. "FLIP!" The princess screamed, tears running down her face. She tried to run forth, but Shelly held her back, so her friend wouldn't rush into the damage and get hurt. The young girl cried, bawled even, worried that their heroes were vanquished.

d~b

Flip groaned, slowly coming to, surrounded by darkness. The collision was so great, it caused the door of the truck to fall clean off. The nine-year-old slowly crawled out of the wreckage, aching but still able to move enough to get out, yet he didn't have enough strength to stay standing. He fell to his knees in the middle of the road, in the center surrounded by three crashed vehicles...

Shaggy and Pugsy were nowhere in sight.

One headlight of the semi still shining, as a large shape approached him.

Flip shielded his eyes, his vision still clearing. _Dad...? _he thought at first... until he saw the long mustache, half of it singed, and Robotnik's furious face came into view.

"You... you brat!" Robotnik snarled, grabbing him by the throat. "You... ruined... EVERYTHING! Do you know how long I worked on this plan?! How many idiots I had to deal with?! How much work I had to do to get this far?!" he threw him to the ground, and took out his sword, pointing it at Flip's heart. "Thanks to you, my plan has been foiled! I have NOTHING now!"

"You could have had something... but you chose to hurt others... so you've only hurt yourself," Flip sneered. "You have nothing because you DESERVE nothing!"

Robotnik glared darkly. "Well, you're going to get what you deserve, Chan! It's all for one... and I'm going to get it all!"

Flip looked above him, smirking. "I don't think so..."

Robotnik growled, then stabbed forward-

*WHAM!*

A dented hubcap suddenly flew threw the air and hit him in the face. He looked over, and to his utter dismay, there stood Shaggy and Pugsy, on top of the wrecked truck! They leaped down, looking charred but still ready to fight. The villain let out a bellow, and ran forth like a maniac with his sword-

Shaggy and Pugsy only stepped to the side, and Robotnik ended up stabbing his sword into the steel side of the truck, stuck tight! "You know, you have some real anger-issues," Pugsy scoffed, then decked him!

Robotnik stumbled, and Shaggy stepped up to him. "And not exactly too wise when it comes to plans," Shaggy added, then tripped him onto his back!

Robotnik groaned, standing up, seeing Flip was back on his feet! "And I may be a kid... but I have friends who taught me what it takes to be a man," Flip finished, as he, Shaggy, and Pugsy took out their swords and slashed quickly...

...carving an 'S', 'P', and 'F' on the stomach of Robotnik's shirt!

"I hate it when the good guys win..." Robotnik moaned, before finally collapsing.

Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip stood around him, their hands on each other's shoulders. "Lets get out of here," Pugsy said, and they walked out, dragging the villain behind.

"FLIP!" came a cry, and Holly and Shelly came running over. The young princess leaped and immediately hugged Flip. "Oh, I'm so happy you're alive!"

"And... in pain...!" Flip grunted, his aches worse as she squeezed him. She loosened her grip, and the two smiled at each other, then pulled into a more gentle hug, leading to a kiss.

Shaggy and Pugsy exchanged smirks. "Taught him everything I know," Shaggy boasted.

"Since when were you ever good with girls?" Pugsy scoffed.

"Shaggy!" came a shout, and Melody came running forth, Scooby following! She leaped into Shaggy's arms and hugged him tight, then gave him a big kiss on the lips. "You did it!"

Shaggy looked over at Pugsy, smirking victoriously.

Shelly and Pugsy looked at the two couples, then each other. Maybe...

"Ugh, I'd rather kiss a dog," Shelly sneered.

"R'okay!" Scooby exclaimed, popping up and slurping her face!

Shelly sputtered, wiping her face, while Pugsy busted out laughing.

The man driving the semi truck climbed out, running over. "Are you guys alright?" he gasped. "What the heck was going on?!"

"It's a long story... Right now, we need to contact Shawn K. of the Musketoons," Holly replied. "There's some urgent business to attend to."

d~b

**A/N: HOORAY! Our heroes saved the day and put Robotnik in his place! **

**Up next, the happy ending!**


	16. The Finale!

**Epilogue**

**One Big Happy Ending!**

After all the damage had been done and Robotnik and his goons had been locked away for good, a large ceremony was taking place...

Oh, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Two weeks prior to the ceremony, a lot of things were taken care of.

First, a message was sent out to Shawn K. and all the Musketoons to return to the kingdom immediately, giving everyone a detailed explanation of why their vacation was cancelled and their now ex-captain was in jail. Shawn K. became Captain, and his first order of business was to go out and find information on the whereabouts of the missing Chan Clan.

Nearly a week later, they found the family. It turns out that, during the storm, the Chan Van got caught in a flood, forcing everyone to use 'Chan Plan 11' and turn it into a boat, ending up getting swept out to sea, ending up stranded on a deserted island for the last three years. Luckily, the island was later marked to be a new tourist destination, and some spectators rescued the family.

Ironically, the Chan Clan had been searching for Flip the moment they got back to civilization, and they were incredibly happy to see that he was alright. "We were so worried about you, Flip!" Suzy said, as they all hugged him. "We kept wondering what became of you!"

"Apparently much has happened, considering he's a Musketoon now." Detective Charlie Chan, their father, replied as he held his son close. "And at such a minor age. Tell us, Flip, what happened to you while we were gone?"

"It's a long story," Flip said. "You see, it all started when you guys never came home after the thunderstorm. The house got destroyed- as you probably guessed- and I ran away, worried about being an orphan. That was when Shaggy and Pugsy took me in..."

Speaking of the other two, Holly arranged a couple meetings for them as well.

She invited Freddy, Daphne, and Velma to the ceremony a week ahead, and Shaggy and Scooby couldn't contain their excitement at seeing their gang again. "Oh my gosh, guys! You're Musketoons, I can't believe it!" Daphne exclaimed, hugging her friends.

"What happened after we split up?" Freddy asked, equally surprised. "Last time we saw you, you two were a couple cowards!"

"Still are, Fred, still are." Shaggy said. "Actually, a lot went downhill since you've been gone. ...I think our parents abandoned us. They just left the house and never came back,"

"Your parents? They've been looking for you!" Velma answered. "They kept calling us asking if we've seen you, but since we lost contact we weren't much help."

"But, why didn't they come home if they were worried?!"

"Well... it turns out they were mistaken for some criminals, and were thrown in jail." Daphne said, awkwardly. "Meanwhile, the real criminals had taken over their identities- it wasn't until one of your relatives came by for a visit that they found out the truth, and managed to clear your parents' names."

"And they're coming tomorrow for the ceremony!" Freddy added.

"Scooby! Did you hear that?! Our parents are coming home!" Shaggy exclaimed.

"I rould rust cry!" Scooby said, wiping a tear of joy.

Pugsy watched the scene from down a corridor, smiling a bit. He was happy that his two friends' lives were getting back on track... yet inside, he felt empty. Something was missing in his life-

*WHUMP!*

Up until it tackled him at Mach 5. "Pugs! *grr* Finally, I found ya!" a voice growled.

Pugsy blinked, seeing a familiar single-fanged werewolf pinning him down. "Fangface?!" he gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"We were invited," came a voice, and his other old friends, Biff and Kim, came walking up, Biff being the one who spoke.

"We heard that you became a Musketoon, and came to see how you're doing." Kim added.

"But... I thought you guys hated me," Pugsy questioned. "I was a real jerk last time..."

"Hey, we forgive you... Plus, hearing about what you've done for Flip and Shaggy, I think we were wrong about you," Biff said.

"Yeah, you're not such a big jerk after all!" Fangface exclaimed, hugging his friend tight.

"*gack* thanks... can I breathe now?"

Fangface released him, then noticed a picture of a sunset on the wall, and changed into his human half, Fangs. "Pugs! Oh man, I can't believe you're a Musketoon! What happened since we've been gone?" Fangs asked, excitedly.

Pugsy sighed- he forgot he always had to give Fangs and/or Fangface a recap whenever they transformed. Nevertheless, it felt good to have his friends back.

And now, comes the ceremony.

All our heroes friends and families gathered for the event, as well as the whole Musketoon Army, fan-base, author, co-author, the author's pet hamster, and a mime that was briefly crushed by a piano.

Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip stood before Holly at the top of the stone steps on the Musketoon base. "Please kneel," she said, and the threesome did so. "In the power invested in me, I, Princess Holly, dub thee Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip- the Royal Musketoons. You may rise,"

The crowd cheered, and our heroes stood proudly. "Well, it's official- Flip was right once again," Pugsy commented with a smirk.

"Yeah, we actually achieved our dream!" Shaggy exclaimed.

"And this time, we're real heroes!" Flip added, raising his sword. "All for one-"

"And one for all!" The three exclaimed, the crowd cheering once again.

**And so our heroes finally made their dreams come true... and I do believe it's time for one more song, sung by our three heroes themselves! (**_**A reprise of the first song)**_

_~All for one_

_And one for all _

_We will fight_

_And never, ever, ever will fall_

_Take the chance_

_Take the risk_

_And be remembered as the hero you are~_

_**THE END!**_

_**d~b**_

**A/N: Special thanks to Mr. Cartoon for his ideas and help in writing this story. Hope you all enjoyed!**


End file.
